2 Killed As Plane Crashes In SoCal Neighborhood, Hits Homes And Sparks Fire

SIMI VALLEY, CA — A small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley on Saturday afternoon, killing two people and hitting two homes, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the pilot was killed in a statement issued Saturday evening, ABC 7 reported.

A second person who was in the plane died, the Ventura County Fire Department said in an update about 8:20 p.m.

The small plane, which the FAA said was a Vans RV-10, hit two homes on High Meadow Street when it crashed shortly before 2 p.m., the fire department said. The plane caught fire and the fire spread to two homes, both two-story single-family homes, the fire department said.

Firefighters were able to evacuate the homes' residents, and there were no injuries to firefighters or the residents, the fire company said.

The FAA said the plane had left from William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster and was heading to Camarillo Airport, ABC 7 reported.

Simi Valley police said Point Mugu Air Traffic Control reported a possible plane crash in the 200 block of High Meadow Street at 1:50 p.m. Saturday.

Police found a single-engine airplane down in the backyard of a residence, the police department said.

Callers to 911 reported the crash shortly before 2 p.m., the Ventura County Star reported, saying people initially thought the hillside was on fire.

The Ventura County Fire Department said the plane hit two, two-story single-family homes on the 200 block of High Meadow Street. Both homes caught fire and sustained structural damage, the fire department said.

About 40 firefighters responded and the fire had been knocked down by about 4 p.m., the fire department said.

The owner of the home that suffered the most damage told ABC 7 they escaped just in time, and had seen the plane flying low, almost on its side spiraling toward the ground, just before the crash.

Arman Hovakemian, the homeowner, told ABC 7 he had been outside when he saw the plane coming down and went to warn his wife. He heard the crash and saw the plane on fire.

"The hose was there, so I grabbed the hose because I saw the fire on the plane, and then I saw the fire on the house," he said. "I kept the hose on the plane and then it just exploded, so I dropped it and I said, 'I need to kind of back away,' because I could smell a lot of gas and fuel."

The crash was the second aviation emergency in the region within 24 hours. On Friday, a small plane made an emergency landing on a golf course in Pacific Palisades.

See Also: Plane Makes Emergency Landing At LA Country Club