Five people were killed and two more were injured Sunday when a plane crashed into a residential area in Southern California.
Residents in the Yorba Linda area began to panic at around 2 p.m. when the small plane appeared to break apart in midair, scattering debris across the neighborhood, authorities said.
A two-story home caught fire when a large piece of the plane crashed into the roof and burst into flames, killing four occupants as well as the pilot, the only person in the plane.
Authorities said two other people were transported to a local hospital with unspecified injuries.
Authorities have not yet identified the victims.
The twin-engine Cessna 414A had taken off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 12 miles west of the crash site, a spokesman with Federal Aviation Administration said.
Yorba Linda, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, was covered with smoke and debris after the crash and subsequent fire, according to pictures and video posted online.
“It was a boom. It sounded like something exploded. It shook our house,” John Wolbart, a Yorba Linda resident, told the Associated Press.
Clint Langford, another neighbor, recalled hearing a low rumbling sound right before the crash.
“It was scary,” Langford told the AP. “And then all of a sudden — boom. It shook the house.”
About 70 firefighters responded to the massive blaze, along with deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
