2 Killed in Crash of Small Plane on Top of Warehouse

A single-engine plane apparently out of fuel crashed into a supermarket warehouse when the pilot tried to make an emergency landing at Fullerton Municipal Airport Saturday, killing both men on board.

The four-seat Cessna 210 was approaching the airport from the west just after noon when it crashed onto the roof of a Lucky Food Centers warehouse in Buena Park, about a mile from the airport, authorities said.

The victims, whose names were withheld pending notification of relatives, apparently died on impact. No one on the ground was injured.

Don Tully, a Buena Park fire battalion chief, said: “The information we have is that one fuel tank was empty and the other (tank) had a small amount of fuel in it. The fuel switch was on the empty tank. Assuming no other problems, if he (the pilot) had switched to the other tank he would have easily had the fuel to make it to the airport.”

The pilot of the plane reportedly told air traffic controllers at the Fullerton tower that he was experiencing engine trouble, Tully said.

Jason Ivey, a store security guard, said he walked into the warehouse during routine rounds and noticed something leaking from the roof. But he did not realize what had happened and had not heard the impact, he added.

Authorities said the plane nosed onto the roof and then flipped upside down. The plane suffered major damage.

Weather conditions apparently played no role in the crash, Tully said.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said authorities were uncertain of the plane’s origin or destination.

The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Orange County coroner’s office were investigating the incident, he said.