A plane crash killed three people and caused an aircraft hangar to go up in flames in San Bernardino County.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson, the single-engine Beechcraft P35 crashed during departure at Cable Airport in Upland Sunday morning with three people on board.
Preliminary information from the San Bernardino County Fire Department indicated that fire crews arrived on scene to fight flames that had engulfed an aircraft hangar.
“Around 6:40 a.m., San Bernardino Fire responded to reports of a structure fire at the Cable Airport,” said Eric Sherwin, Public Information Officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “An additional 911 caller stated that a light aircraft had crashed into one of the hangars.”
The hangar is used by the Ontario Police Department to store their air support units, Sherwin said. None of the police vehicles were damaged as a result of the crash.
A man who lives near the airport told KTLA 5’s Annie Rose Ramos that the crash woke him up, and that when he got to the scene, he recognized that the hangar engulfed in flames belonged to a flight training school.
“I heard a very loud noise, sounded like a truck hit a building,” the neighbor said. “I haven’t had a chance to look at the scene yet, but I talk to these flight students all the time…I’m worried that I might know some of the people.”
The man, who witnessed a plane crash himself in Fullerton, said that he and his father — who is also a pilot — have seen planes crash at Cable Airport before.
“My dad flies out of Apple Valley Airport and lands here all the time, and we do occasionally see people come up short and a couple crashes here,” he said. “But nothing this bad, ever. This is really, really bad.”
Investigators and fire crews were seen outside the hangar searching for clues past 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
Fire officials confirmed that the flames in the hangar had been extinguished in just over fifteen minutes.
The FAA and the NTSB are handling the investigation.
This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA for updates.