5 killed in plane crash in Santa Ana shopping complex parking lot

A twin-engine Cessna bound for John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, crashed into the parking lot of a Staples office supply store on Sunday, killing all five people aboard, Orange County fire officials said.

“No one on the ground was injured,” said Capt. Tony Bommarito of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The crash happened just after 12:30 p.m. local time. Authorities have no other information about the flight at this time, Bommarito said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will each investigate.

The 1973 Cessna 414 was registered to Category III Aviation Corp. in San Francisco company and had flown from the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Concord, according to FAA records.

Ella Pham, 20, and her boyfriend were just leaving the parking lot at the time of the crash.

“It actually came down in front of us. We looked up and we just saw a plane fall. It lost control and it just fell straight down. It didn’t even look like it was trying to land,” she told USA TODAY.

“There was no fire, no flames, no smoke, nothing. It was almost silent,” she said.

The location of the crash is between the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, about 40 minutes south of Los Angeles.

The crash site is a little more than a mile away from John Wayne Airport.

The crash occurred in the parking lot of a shopping complex that includes Staples, a CVS drug store and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.

Tweets from people near the scene show a crumpled plane among the cars and palm trees of the parking lot.

Cox Media Group