Plane crash near Fullerton Airport leaves 2 dead and 18 people injured

Two people died and at least 18 people were injured following a small plane crash in Orange County Thursday afternoon.

A single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed around 2:15 p.m. PST, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It happened in the 2300 block of Raymer Avenue, near the Fullerton Airport. 

The Fullerton Police Department said the injuries varied, with paramedics hospitalizing 10 people while crews treated and released eight people at the scene, according to a post on X.

The FAA said it will investigate along with the National Transportation Safety Board, the nation’s watchdog for transportation agencies.

The plane crashed into a large warehouse less than a mile away. In aerial footage around 2:40 p.m., firefighters were seen hosing down a blackened area of the rooftop where smoke was rising from a gaping hole. 

Authorities have released no details about how the crash happened. Witnesses recalled hearing a “loud noise” before running out of the building. Witness Javier Ruiz recalled seeing someone with what appeared to be burns cross his body and clothes. 

“His shirt was burned, his shoes were burned, his face,” Ruiz said. “It looked like something from a movie.”

Aerial footage showed the small plane resting inside of the building. 

In a post to X at 2:39 p.m., police said evacuations were underway in the area. 

“Plane crash in the 2300 block of Raymer Ave,” the post states. “Evacuations are underway in the 2300 block of Raymer. Avoid the area. PD PIO en route.”

Rep. Lou Correa, who represents the Orange County congressional district where the crash happened, wrote in a post to X that workers at a local furniture manufacturing business were injured when a plane crashed into the building. 

“A small plane crashed into a furniture manufacturing building in Fullerton in our district. At least a dozen workers were injured hurt. Passengers’ status unknown,” he wrote in the post published at 3:23 p.m. 

This is the second known plane crash at the airport within the last two months. On Nov. 25, another small plane crashed into a tree in the 2400 block of Artesia Avenue, roughly a block away from the most recent deadly crash.

No one sustained serious injuries In the November incident, according to Fullerton police. 

Check for updates to this developing story.