SOUTHLAND : Plane Crashes, Explodes in Front Yard of Ontario Home; Pilot Killed
A twin-engine cargo plane crashed shortly after take off this morning from Ontario International Airport, hurtling into the front yard of a house and exploding in a fireball that killed the pilot.
Two residents escaped uninjured out the back door of their older stucco and wood-framed house when the plane slammed into the front yard at 6:50 a.m. with a rumble that felt like an earthquake, a neighbor said.
Ontario police officials said witnesses saw a propeller and engine parts falling off the Piper Navajo before it crashed about three miles northwest of the airport. The explosion touched off a fire that damaged the front of the house.
The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene, said police spokesman Jim Vandever. The pilot’s identity was not released. The plane belonged to Ameriflight, Inc., a Burbank-based air cargo firm and had a load of United Parcel Service packages bound for Santa Barbara, authorities said.
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