Homebuilt plane crashes in California, killing 2
SANTA PAULA, Calif. -- Officials say two people have been killed after a homebuilt airplane crashed into a shed outside the Southern California city of Santa Paula. Ventura County fire Capt. Stan Ziegler said the two-seat aircraft went down Saturday afternoon. It was a clear and sunny day.
He says the two people were pronounced dead when firefighters got to the scene less than a mile from Santa Paula Airport.
Santa Paula is roughly 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Lisa Darling-Daniel, who lives in the area, witnessed the crash while eating outside with a friend.
"It sort of spun around, the engine got loud, and then: kaboom," Darling-Daniel told the Ventura County Star. "I just knew -- as low as it was and the way that it flipped -- that's not a trick."
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the plane was a homebuilt Vans RV-6A that caught fire after it went down.
Gregor says the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.