Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

18 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

20 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

20 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

21 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

21 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

2 days ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

2 days ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Plane Breaks Apart Over California Neighborhood, 5 Killed
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 4, 2019

Share

YORBA LINDA — Five people died and two were injured after a small plane apparently broke apart Sunday over a Southern California suburb, raining debris on a neighborhood and setting a house on fire, authorities said.
Four people in the house that burned in the city of Yorba Linda were killed, along with the pilot, who was the only person in the twin-engine plane, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Cory Martino told reporters.

Four people in the house that burned in the city of Yorba Linda were killed, along with the pilot, who was the only person in the twin-engine plane, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Cory Martino told reporters.
Martino said the dead occupants of the home were two males and two females but did not provide other information about them.
The Cessna 414A that can carry up to eight people took off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport about 12 miles west of the blaze, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
According to preliminary radar data, the plane reached an altitude of about 7,800 feet and then made a rapid descent, said Eliott Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The debris field spanned about four blocks, he said.
The main cabin of the airplane and one engine came to rest at the bottom of a ravine in the backyard of a house and the other engine landed on a street, creating a hole, Simpson said.

Crash Sent Panicked Neighbors Into the Streets

“During the impact sequence one house caught fire and that’s where we have the four fatalities,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what set the two-story house ablaze. The property where the fuselage ended about three houses down from the home that burned.
Aerial footage from news helicopters showed plane parts, including side panels and a propeller, scattered on rooftops and driveways near the burned house.
The crash sent panicked neighbors into the streets.
“It was a boom. It sounded like something exploded. It shook our house,” said John Wolbart, who lives a block away.
He said he ran to the burning house and saw a woman come out with singed hair.
The wounded were taken to a hospital with burns, said Pokey Sanchez, an assistant chief with the Orange County Fire Authority. A firefighter was also treated for a minor injury.
Clint Langford, who lives about a half-mile away, said he was in his living room when he heard a low rumbling.
“It’s the eerie, low rumbling sound that keeps getting lower and louder. It was scary,” he said. “And then all of a sudden boom. It shook the house.”

Rain Helps Firefighters Extinguish the House Fire

He looked out his front door and could see plane parts falling out the sky in the distance.
Pat Rogers, who lives about a mile from the crash site, told the Orange County Register he saw the plane on fire and coming apart.

Video posted on Twitter showed panicked residents running to the house as it became engulfed in flames and dark smoke. One man used a garden house to douse a burning wing that landed on the street.
Video posted on Twitter showed panicked residents running to the house as it became engulfed in flames and dark smoke. One man used a garden house to douse a burning wing that landed on the street.
Rain from a winter storm helped firefighters extinguish the house fire.
The National Transportation and Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
Simpson said it will take some time to determine the maintenance history of the aircraft, which was built in 1981.
Representatives of the manufacturers of the airframe and engines were expected on the scene Monday.
The wreckage will be transported to Phoenix, Arizona, for a forensic examination, Simpson said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested, California Farms at Risk

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

13 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

13 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

14 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

14 hours ago

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

15 hours ago

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

15 hours ago

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

15 hours ago

Jury Reaches Verdict on Some Counts at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

15 hours ago

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

15 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration released about 150 National Guard troops on Tuesday in the first pullback since it dispatched a milit...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

An Israeli military convoy manoeuvres near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
13 hours ago

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

Abel Joel Garcia Zarate, 39, of Biola, was arrested Sunday, June, 30, 2025, in Madera County on suspicion of starting a wildfire just hours after crews responded to a separate blaze sparked by farm equipment. (Madera County SO)
13 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

13 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERSStringerFile Photo
13 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

Lara Trump looks on during Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump's rally, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend