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A 75-year-old man was identified Monday as the pilot who was killed in a plane crash in Yorba Linda that also claimed the lives of four others inside a home.
Antonio Pastini, of Gardnerville, Nevada, was the sole occupant of the twin-engine Cessna 414A that broke apart midair around 1:45 p.m. in the area of Crestknoll and Glendale drives, officials said.
Debris rained down over the residential neighborhood, setting one home ablaze.
Four people — two males and two females — were killed inside the two-story house.
Neighbors told KTLA they were a husband and wife with their daughter and son-in-law, but the decedents had yet to be positively identified by coroner’s officials.
The residents were preparing to host a Super Bowl party when the crash occurred took place, according to neighbors.
“Based on initial information received by the individuals who survived the incident, we believe the individuals were members of a family attending a gathering,” said Lt. Cory Martino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Martino told reporters that DNA would be used to identify the remaining four victims, a process that could take some time.
“Unfortunately, the condition of the additional four deceased will require the use of additional measures such as DNA to obtain official identification,” he said.
The small plane had departed the Fullerton Municipal Airport around 1:35 p.m., just 10 minutes before it crashed, according to Maya Smith, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Preliminary radar data showed the aircraft climbed to about 7,800 feet before it began “rapidly descending toward the ground,” Smith said.
Witnesses reported seeing the airplane come out of a cloud at a high speed before parts of the plane — including its wings and tail — began to break off, according to Smith.
“We’re dealing with an in-flight break-up, and that actually is consistent with this large debris field that we have around this area,” she said.
The investigation, she stressed, is ongoing, and the cause of the crash was not immediately known. The plane’s wreckage was being taken to Phoenix, where it will be examined.
Investigators will also look take a look at Pastini’s history as a pilot, his flight experience and medical records, as well as environmental factors such as weather, according to Smith.
The Sheriff’s Department initially identified Pastini as a retired Chicago police officer, but spokeswoman Carrie Braun told KTLA Tuesday his credentials were not legitimate.
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