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2 dead after plane crashes into commercial building in California, US

2 dead after plane crashes into commercial building in California, US Aerial view of the aftermath of a small plane crash into a commercial building in California, US, on Jan. 3, 2025. (Photo via FOX News)
By Agence France-Presse
Jan 3, 2025 9:05 AM

At least two people died, and 18 others were injured as a small plane crashed into a commercial building in California, U.S., on Thursday, police said.

The crash occurred early in the afternoon near Fullerton Municipal Airport, 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The cause remains unknown.

“There are two confirmed fatalities,” Fullerton police said on X. Additionally, 10 people were hospitalized and eight others were treated at the scene. Investigators do not yet know if the deceased were plane passengers or if they were workers at the building where it crashed, a police officer told local station KTLA.

Television footage showed a gaping hole in the roof of the building, with smoke pouring out.

“All we hear is like a loud noise, boom, and that’s it. Then we started running out” of the building, Jerome Cruz, one of the workers who witnessed the scene, told CBS News.

The plane was a single-engine Van’s RV-10, a small model with four seats, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which has opened an investigation.

Another crash near Fullerton Airport injured two people in November.

EXCERPT: Eighteen others were injured in the accident, police officers report

Last Updated:  Jan 3, 2025 9:54 AM