Plane Crashes Into Fence, Injures 6 : Van Nuys: The single-engine craft burst into flames after a takeoff attempt, witnesses say. All aboard escape.

A single-engine plane, struggling to take off from Van Nuys Airport in heat-thinned air, crashed into a fence and burst into flames Friday, injuring all six people aboard, three critically.

The six-seat Piper Cherokee Lance PA-32 crashed as the pilot tried to take off, witnesses said.

“It looked like he was having trouble getting started but he just kept going. It didn’t look like he was going to get off the ground,” said Allen Mikula, 25, of Mission Hills. Mikula, a student pilot, was eating dinner in an outdoor observation area when the crash occurred.

Mikula said the nose of the plane rose four or five times, but the tail never left the ground. “It was pretty scary,” Mikula said.

The plane crashed through a fence and stopped near a railroad track about 300 feet beyond a runway at the north end of the airport.

Los Angeles City Fire Department information Officer Gary Svider said all six passengers got themselves out of the burning plane. “It is miraculous that they were able to do that. It was a huge fireball,” he said.

“Three of them ran out just before the explosion,” Mikula said.

Two women from the plane were taken to Sherman Oaks Community Hospital burn center in critical condition, said hospital spokeswoman Johna Rogovin.

A man and a woman were treated at Panorama Community Hospital and were then transferred to Sherman Oaks Community Hospital, said nursing supervisor Mary Laxson.

Two men were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. A 19-year-old from Woodland Hills was in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns over 30% to 40% of his body. A 33-year-old Downey man was treated for second-degree burns over 10% to 15% of his body, according to Ann Lipman, hospital spokeswoman.

No other information on the victims was available.

Robert Alexander, owner of San Val, the company that had rented out the plane, said he knew of no mechanical problems with the aircraft.

“The airplane ran very well,” Alexander said. “The airplanes are inspected every 100 flying hours.” The flight was possibly headed to Las Vegas, Alexander said.

Alexander did not witness the takeoff attempt but speculated that problems might have been caused by heat, which thins the air and reduces the lift available to an aircraft at a given speed.

The mercury reached 104 degrees in the San Fernando Valley Friday.

“The temperature was high enough that it would take an abnormal amount of runway to take off,” he said.