Small plane crash-lands and bursts into flames on Los Angeles-area street

Max Hauptman, USA TODAY

September 6, 2024 at 10:07 a.m.·1 min read

A small plane crash-landed on a street in Los Angeles’ South Bay area early Friday morning, leaving two people critically injured, according to reports.

The plane, a single-engine Piper Comanche, went down early Friday morning, bursting into flames near the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and 126th Street in the city of Hawthorne, California.

PLANE CRASH | FS161 | Hawthorne Boulevard and 126 Street | #Hawthorne | #LACoFD crews are on scene of a small single engine plane crash. 2 people on board transported to local hospital with critical injuries. No people injured on the ground. #HawthorneIC pic.twitter.com/i7Se2Wp13V
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) September 6, 2024

Emergency responders transported the pilot and passenger to a nearby hospital, where they remained in critical condition. Los Angeles County fire officials said that the plane was heading towards Hawthorne Municipal Airport, about two miles away, when it crashed, according to KTLA news.

'We got lucky'

“The good news is it didn’t hurt anybody on the ground,” Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Sheila Kellher Berkoh told KTLA. “It looks like minor damage to anything nearby, so we got lucky with where they placed that plane down.”

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

This is a breaking story that will continue to be updated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Small plane crashes, bursts into flames near Los Angeles, injuring 2

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'We got lucky'

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