SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – A small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley on Saturday afternoon, killing two people and a dog aboard the aircraft and damaging two homes, authorities said.
Fire crews responded, and police cordoned off the streets, warning people to stay clear of the area. Smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of one home in the Wood Ranch section of the community, which lies nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
Wreckage could be seen between the two homes. The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that residents were inside at the time but said they evacuated with no reported injuries. Both homes sustained structural damage and were impacted by the fire, authorities said.
About 40 firefighters were on scene. With the flames out, they began working on salvage.
Officials initially reported one death. Later Saturday, the Simi Valley Police Department said the pilot, a passenger and a dog in the airplane died.
As of Sunday, authorities had not released any information about the occupants of the single-engine Van’s RV-10, which is a popular home-built plane sold in kit form. They also did not say what might have caused the crash.
The plane crashed into the backyard and dining room of Arman Hovakemian’s home. Hovakemian told the Los Angeles Times that he was doing yard work when he noticed the plane above, circling lower and lower in the hillside neighborhood.
He ran inside to get his wife, Armineh, and their Pomeranian dog, Koko, and they fled the property. A loud bang followed and the fuselage landed where he had been standing in the yard just moments before, he said.
“I’m numb. It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Hovakemian said Saturday as dozens of firefighters and police officers surrounded his home. “We’re fortunate we were able to get out.”
In security video recorded by a neighbor that was viewed by the Times, the plane can be heard circling the neighborhood for nearly three minutes and flying close to homes at points. In another video, the plane can be seen shooting straight up into the clouds then dropping down again.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board also was on the scene Saturday. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said once the wreckage of the plane is documented, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation.
Investigators also will be combing through the plane’s maintenance records, weather forecasts, recordings of any air traffic control communications, witness statements, the pilot’s background and any surveillance video that might have captured the aircraft.
In January another Van’s RV-10 crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton, which is southeast of Los Angeles, while trying to make an emergency landing, killing the pilot and his teen daughter and injuring 19 people in the building. A preliminary report issued by the NTSB said that plane appeared to have had a door ajar during flight.
It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later.
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