Plane hits warehouse in California: 2 dead, 20 injured

STORY: :: Authorities report two dead, 20 injured as aircraft

crashes into a warehouse in Southern California

:: January 3, 2025

:: Michael Meacham, Deputy Chief, City of Fullerton

“The aircraft departed runway two four at Fullerton on approximately any runway. The aircraft appeared to make a 180 degree left turn and flew left downward toward runway two four and eventually crashed approximately 1,000 feet short of runway two four, hit a furniture building and immediately caught fire, and so far we have two confirmed deaths, but we have no names or IDs.

”Obviously we’ll be looking at the wreckage tomorrow on site at the factory, documenting as much as we possibly can and we’ll be going around trying to get video camera footage and talking to witnesses. We will extract the electronic data that is on board and then remove it from there. And we want to make a far more forensic investigator in a remote facility.”

The plane, a single-engine Van’s RV-10, hit the warehouse at 14:15 local time (22:15 GMT), causing a fire and significant damage to the building. Elliot Simpson, an accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), provided details of the incident during a press briefing.

“The aircraft involved was a kit built Van’s Aircraft RV-10, registration number N8757R, constructed in 2011. It is a four seat single engine aluminum aircraft, based at Fullerton Airport,” explained Simpson. “The aircraft departed runway two four at Fullerton at approximately 2:00 p.m., climbed to approximately 900 feet, and a short time later the pilot called for an immediate return to the airport.”

The aircraft subsequently made a 180-degree left turn, flew left downwind to runway two four and crashed about 1,000 feet short of the runway, striking a furniture building and immediately bursting into flames. “We have two confirmed fatalities, but we have no names or IDs. The coroner will be able to provide that at some point,” Simpson added.