2 Killed in Crash of Vintage Airplane

Two people were killed Monday when a vintage World War II-era, single-engine airplane crashed in Angeles National Forest, authorities said.

The cause of the crash is unknown. Authorities had not released the names of the victims late Monday, but members of the Condor Squadron, a Van Nuys flying club for owners of vintage aircraft, believed that one of the dead was a member of their group.

The plane, a two-seat AT-6 training craft, went down in a remote area near San Francisquito Canyon Road, just south of Green Valley, said Joe Ziegler, a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatch supervisor.

Residents on Calle Rosalito told fire officials that pieces of the plane landed on their street, but did not cause any injuries, Ziegler said.

The plane left Van Nuys Airport about 1 p.m., apparently on its way to Edwards Air Force Base, a Federal Aviation Administration official said. Green Valley residents reported the crash about 1:40 p.m., Ziegler said. Three hours later, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s helicopter spotted the wreckage on a steep hillside, Ziegler said.