The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a vintage plane crashed shortly after taking off in Chino early Saturday afternoon, killing two people.
According to initial reports issued by the FAA, the twin-engine Lockheed 12A crashed just after departing from Chino Airport at 12:35 p.m.
There were two people onboard the aircraft, the FAA said. Preliminary information indicates they were both found dead at the scene.
A plane crashed shortly after taking off in Chino, California on June 15, 2024. (Seth Halverson) 
A plane crashed shortly after taking off in Chino, California on June 15, 2024. (OnSceneTV) 
A plane crashed shortly after taking off in Chino, California on June 15, 2024. (OnSceneTV) 
A plane crashed shortly after taking off in Chino, California on June 15, 2024. (KTLA)
Video taken shortly after the crash appears to show the World War II-era plane’s engine detached from the fuselage in a grassy field not far from the runway. According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the aircraft caught fire after it crash-landed just west of the airport.
It took firefighters just ten minutes to extinguish the flames, the Daily Bulletin added.
The victims’ identities have not yet been released, however a social media post indicates that one of them was a man named Frank Wright.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Wright, a 67-year-old Riverside resident, was one of the deceased victims.
