A small plane crashed into a residential area or the SIMI Valley on Saturday afternoon, authorities said, killing two people and a canine on board, and damaging two houses.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a Vans RV-10, a single-wing motor aircraft that is sold in a kit’s form and is usually homemade construction.
The plane left the William J. Fox airfield in Lancaster and was traveling to Camarillo airport when he crashed into Simi Valley, according to FAA. The agency’s initial said the plane only carried the pilot, but the police on Saturday night said two people died, as well as a canine that was on the plane.
The identities of the victims were not released.
The incident occurred around 2 in the afternoon in the 200 block Meadow Street in the Wood Ranch or Simi Valley area. FAA and the National Transportation Security Board will investigate.
The plane crashed in the backyard and Arman’s dining room and Armineh Hovakemian. Arman Hovakemian said he was doing a gardening job when he noticed the plane above, spinning increasingly low in the neighborhood of the hillside.
Fearful that the plane was spiral towards his house, ran inside so that his wife and dog Pomeranio, Koko. He followed a strong blow and the fuselage landed where he had stopped in the courtyard, he said.
Firefighters work on the plane crash site.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
The smell of gas filled the air and the side of their house caught fire, he said, which makes the couple flee when the neighbors called 911.
“I am too rejected,” said Arman Hovakemian, standing on the street as firefighters and police officers surrounded his house. A light rain cheated on the street while the neighbors watched a fire truck with an ostense ladder on the Hovakemian residence.
“I’m numb. He has yet sunk,” he said. “We are lucky that we could leave.”
The plane movements just before the accident alarmed some residents. In the security video tasks of a neighbor who was seen by the times, you can hear the plane surrounding the neighborhood for almost three minutes and flies near the homes at the points. In another video, you can see the plane shooting directly to the clouds and then fall again.
The other house damaged by the plane belongs to PJ Van Kralingen and his wife, Iris. The couple was in the Getty center when they received a text message about the accident.
Two of his three dogs somehow escaped from the incident of the home and are still missing, said Pj Van Kralingen, standing on the street.
Even so, he expressed his gratitude that no one was at home at that time. The plane broke windows in their family hall, which is where their wife’s parents, who live with the couple, usually feel.
“It’s a bit disturbing,” he said. He said the officials told him that he could not enter the house for 24 hours because NTSB needs to come to the site.
Queenie Wong contributed to this report.
