A small plane crashed through the roof of a large furniture manufacturing building in Fullerton on Thursday, shortly after the pilot radioed a request for an emergency landing at the nearby airport. Two people aboard the plane died and 19 people working inside the building were injured, officials said.
Eleven of those injured were hospitalized; eight were treated at the scene, officials said
The identities of the people who died was not yet known, said Kristy Wells, a Fullerton police spokesperson.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the Fullerton Fire Department got a call about the crash on Raymer Avenue, Lt. Tim Kandler said. The building of Michael Nicholas Designs, a furniture factory, was engulfed in flames with people inside. A Vans RV-10 experimental aircraft was found inside the building.
Security footage posted online shows a huge fireball and plume of black smoke arising from the structure shortly after the crash.
Juanita Ramirez, a 58-year-old employee, was among those at the site. She heard a loud crash and saw a large ball of fire flying toward her.
“It felt like a dream,” Ramirez said.
She started running away with her coworkers and felt her head pounding from the fear.
Jesús Díaz, 43, was nearby working on the factory line when he heard the loud sound and saw heavy black smoke coming from the roof.
“I thought it was a speaker burning, or an electrical fire,” Diaz said.
The explosion from the plane left some workers burned, at least one severely, Diaz said.
More than 100 people were evacuated from the building. Officials also evacuated surrounding businesses.
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A single-engine plane crashed into a building in Fullerton on Jan. 2, 2025. (Photo by OnScene.TV)
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