A small plane crashed into two houses in Riverside, Calif., Monday evening, killing at least four people and injuring two others.
The Cessna 310 aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Riverside Municipal Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane was bound for San Jose.
Riverside Fire Chief Michael Moore said the Cessna’s occupants, a husband, wife and three teenagers, were returning to San Jose on Monday after a weekend cheerleading conference at Disneyland.
Moore says one of the teenagers, a girl, was thrown from the plane on impact and had only minor injuries. She was able to talk to firefighters about what had happened as she was taken to a hospital.
An unconscious victim from one of the homes is in surgery.
Riverside Police Lt. Charles Payne told media that four people were on the plane and the pilot was extricated from the crash.
Riverside fire Capt. Tyler Reynolds said, “Two additional victims were pulled from one of the houses that caught fire. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the dead person was from the house or the plane.”
Four bodies have been found in the wreckage, but firefighters have not sorted out exactly how many were on the plane and how many from the homes. They are looking for additional possible victims in the wreckage.
The two homes were destroyed, and there was minor damage to some neighbouring homes.
At least one of the homes was engulfed in flames and nearly destroyed. The plane’s propeller appeared to be left sitting on the roof of a nearby home. Firefighters were still putting out hotspots from the ferocious fire nearly two hours after the crash.
Police said that approximately 30 residents of nearby homes were evacuated and taken to a nearby community centre.
