Plane crash near Fullerton Airport leaves 2 dead and 19 people injured

Two people died and 19 others suffered injuries following a small plane crash in Orange County Thursday afternoon.

A single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed around 2:15 p.m. PST, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It happened in the 2300 block of Raymer Avenue, near the Fullerton Airport. 

The National Transportation Safety Board described the RV-10 as a “kit-built” plane, essentially an aircraft an owner can assemble and maintain. Once construction is complete, the FAA inspects the aircraft and clears it for flight. Roughly 11,000 various models of Van’s airplanes are currently flying, according to the NTSB. Around 10%, or about 1,100 of those plans are the specific model involved in the crash. 

“It’s a kit-built airplane,” NTSB investigator Elliott Simpson said. “It’s a very popular airplane … It’s a pretty standard airplane and it’s been flying for a long time.”

Based on the initial investigation conducted by the FAA and NTSB, authorities said the pilot took off from Fullerton Airport at about 2:00 p.m. and immediately climbed to 900 feet.

“A short time later, the pilot called for an immediate return to the airport,” Simpson said. 

After receiving clearance to land on any runway, the airplane turned left toward one of the runways but crashed about 1000 feet short of the airport. Simpson said the plane crashed into a furniture building and immediately caught fire. The Fullerton Police Department said the two passengers in the plane died. 

Aerial footage showed the crashed aircraft resting just below a gaping hole on the building’s roof. 

Witnesses recalled hearing a “loud noise” before running out of the building. Witness Javier Ruiz said he saw someone with what appeared to be burns across his body and clothes. 

“His shirt was burned, his shoes were burned, his face,” Ruiz said. “It looked like something from a movie.”

The Fullerton Fire Department said 19 people sustained injuries in addition to the two deaths. Police said the injuries varied, with paramedics hospitalizing 10 people while crews treated and released eight people at the scene, according to a post on X.

Immediately following the crash police evacuated the area near the crash site. 

“Plane crash in the 2300 block of Raymer Ave,” the post states. “Evacuations are underway in the 2300 block of Raymer. Avoid the area. PD PIO en route.”

Building inspectors red-tagged the warehouse, barring workers from re-entering it, according to firefighters. 

This is the second known plane crash at the airport within the last two months. On Nov. 25, another small plane crashed into a tree in the 2400 block of Artesia Avenue, roughly a block away from the most recent deadly crash.

No one sustained serious injuries In the November incident, according to Fullerton police.