Plane Crash in Santa Clarita Kills 2

Two people died Sunday night when their twin-engine Cessna plunged from the sky, sliced through high-voltage power lines and burst into flames in a Santa Clarita field, 50 feet from a housing development, authorities said.

The pilot swerved away from homes just before crashing, authorities and a witness said.

“The guy made a last-minute turn to avoid hurting anyone,” said Patrick Bendrat, 33, who was helping a neighbor roof his house when he saw the plane spiraling down a half-mile away.

“The engine was revving--it was in a dive,” he said. “I thought he would pull out of it, but then the tail section came apart. He hit the power line and then it exploded on the ground, a ball of fire.”

Neither person aboard the plane was immediately identified.

No one on the ground was injured in the 6:30 p.m. accident, according to Los Angeles County firefighters, but debris from the plane was scattered over three acres near Featherstar Avenue and Alaminos Drive.

The plane came down in a 200-foot-wide field that had been cleared under a series of high-voltage transmission lines, according to county fire spokesman Ed Loney. Department of Water and Power officials reported no power outages resulting from the crash. Firefighters extinguished the flaming wreckage.

The pilot had filed a flight plan for a trip from Palmdale to Van Nuys Airport. William Shumann, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the pilot was “instrument-rated,” certifying his ability to fly in poor visibility conditions.

Officials with the FAA and the National Transportation and Safety Board opened an investigation Sunday.