California plane crash: Five killed and two injured after aircraft smashes into house

Small twin-engine plane apparently came apart midair, raining debris over neighbourhood

Five people were killed and two others injured when a small plane smashed into a house in a neighbourhood in southern California.

The small plane apparently came apart midair on Sunday, raining debris over the area and igniting a house fire before landing in a back garden, authorities said.

Four people died in the Yorba Linda house that caught fire and the male pilot, who was the only person in the twin-engine plane, was also killed, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt Cory Martino said.

He said two males and two females died in the home, but gave no other identifying information.

The Cessna 414A took off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport about a dozen miles west of the blaze, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

A man puts out fire on a piece of debris from the plane crash (Joshua Nelson/via Reuters) (Joshua Nelson/via REUTERS)

The two-storey house burst into flames after being struck by the main cabin and one engine of the plane, sending panicked neighbors into the streets.

The second engine dislodged and fell onto the street, creating a large hole in the asphalt, according to Eliott Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Two wounded people were taken to hospital with burn injuries, said Pokey Sanchez, an assistant chief with the Orange County Fire Authority. A firefighter was also treated for a minor injury.

Ambulances stand at the ready as smoke rises from the house set ablaze by the crashed Cessna 414A (Clint Langford via AP)

“It was a boom. It sounded like something exploded. It shook our house,” John Wolbart, who lives a block away, told the Associated Press.

He said he ran to the burning house and saw a woman come out with singed hair.

Clint Langford, who lives about half a mile away, said he was in his living room when he heard a low rumbling.

The house is cordoned off as emergency service attend to the scene (AP)

“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.”

He said he looked out his front door and could see plane parts falling out of the sky in the distance.

Video posted on Twitter showed panicked residents running to the house as it became engulfed in flames and dark smoke. One man doused a burning wing that landed on the street with a garden hose.

Aerial footage taken from news helicopters showed plane parts, including side panels and a propeller, scattered on rooftops and driveways near the burned house.

The main body of the twin-engine plane was found in the backyard of another home not far from the burned house. The fire spread to an SUV that was parked in the driveway.

Debris was scattered over four blocks, Mr Simpson said.

Rain from a winter storm helped firefighters extinguish the house fire. They planned to search the burned house in case there were additional victims, Mr Sanchez said.

The National Transportation and Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

Additional reporting by Associated Press