At least two people were killed and 18 others injured on Thursday when a small plane crashed into a commercial building near Fullerton Municipal Airport in California, authorities reported.
The crash, which occurred in the early afternoon, caused extensive damage to the building, leaving a large hole in the roof and sending plumes of smoke into the air.
The Fullerton Police Department confirmed the fatalities on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “There are two confirmed fatalities.”
Among the injured, ten individuals were hospitalized, while eight others received treatment at the scene.
Authorities have not yet determined whether the deceased were passengers on the plane or individuals inside the building at the time of the crash.
“We are still investigating whether the victims were onboard the aircraft or inside the structure,” a police officer told KTLA.
Witnesses described the chaotic aftermath of the crash. Jerome Cruz, an employee working in the building, shared his experience:
“All we heard was a loud boom, and that was it. Then we started running out,” he told CBS News.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as a single-engine Van’s RV-10, a four-seater plane. The cause of the crash remains unclear, and an investigation by the FAA is underway.
This incident follows another aviation accident near Fullerton Municipal Airport in November, which left two people injured.
