Small Arizona plane crashes on Los Angeles street

LOS ANGELES — A small plane from Arizona crashed Friday in a Los Angeles intersection
just south of Van Nuys Airport, killing the only person aboard, authorities said.

The Scottsdale-registered aircraft did not hit any vehicles or structures and there was no fire, Fire
Department spokesman Erik Scott said. The victim died at the scene.

The plane was a single-engine Lancair and went down around 1:15 p.m. shortly
after takeoff from Van Nuys, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian
Gregor said.

Sharon Mashal, 22, said she was getting lunch when she heard a big boom.

“It was really loud, I thought something exploded. I looked around the corner
and I saw a plane on the ground,” she said.

She said she saw the wings and nose in pieces on the street.

“As for the cockpit, there was no roof, everything was really crushed.”

Others witnesses to the crash told her they watched the plane spiral out of
control before hitting the ground.

The plane ended up against a curb with one wing bent around a traffic signal
pole. The craft’s front end and cockpit were demolished.

It appeared most of the debris ended up on the street outside a used car sale
lot, said Rick Grant, who arrived on scene after the crash.

Van Nuys Airport is a large general aviation airport in the middle of the San
Fernando Valley. Around the time of the crash, the National Weather Service
reported 6 mph winds, a temperature of 69 degrees and 10-mile visibility in the
area.