At least 2 are killed when small plane crashes in Kern County
KERNVILLE, Calif. -- A single-engine plane crashed near a remote Kern County airport Friday afternoon and exploded in flames, killing at least two people, authorities said.
It was unclear how many were in the aircraft, which went down in a field next to the Kern Valley Airport, but at least two people were believed to have been on board and there did not appear to be any survivors, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Department.
The department got a call at 5:46 p.m. about a possible crash.
The private plane was consumed in a grass fire sparked by the crash, but the one-acre blaze was quickly contained, Kern County Fire Capt. Tommy Brown said.
The aircraft crashed alongside a runway as the pilot attempted to land about 5:30 p.m., said Jeltje Nelson of Nelson Aviation, which manages the airport near Lake Isabella for the Kern County Department of Airports.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were responding to the scene to handle the investigation.
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