Daily Times

At least two people lost their lives Wednesday after a single-engine small plane crashed and caught fire at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, California, as the number of aviation incidents continues to rise in the US. As the small plane caught fire, emergency services personnel and fire extinguisher staff rushed to the scene and used foam and water to put out the highly flammable aviation fuel. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registry indicated that the aircraft was a CSA SportCruiser. According to airport police, “the plane was registered at the Van Nuys facility.” Authorities are investigating the crash and are looking at whether the crash happened while departure or landing. According to local news reports, witnesses described the plane heading nose-down into the ground before it crashed and caught fire. “They did very a very high impact, what was described as nose-first into the ground,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said, adding that “tragically that likely quickly caused the death of both of the occupants.” After the incident, some parts of the airport were closed, however, they were later opened for general aviation. Scott said this is the third crash this year at Van Nuys, but the previous two were not fatal. He added there has not been a fatality on airport property for at least 20 years.