By Ray Downs, UPI
A small plane crashed into a shopping center parking lot in Santa Ana, Calif. on Sunday, killing all five people on board.
The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna declared an emergency shortly before it crashed into an unoccupied vehicle that was parked in the lot.
[post_ads]"Fortunately, that person was inside the store shopping at the time of the impact," Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito told reporters. "I don't know anything about what this pilot did or what he was thinking, but it could have been much more tragic."
The plane was about one mile from its destination, the John Wayne Airport, before the crash.
A dashcam video of the incident shows the plane nose-diving towards the ground. And witnesses described a gruesome scene.
"Bodies were hanging from out the side of the plane," witness Jesse Perez told the Orange County Register. "I couldn't believe what was happening."
The Federal Aviation Authority is investigating the incident.
COMMENTS