2 Die as Plane Crashes Soon After Takeoff

A single-engine airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from Long Beach Airport on Sunday afternoon, killing both men aboard, authorities said.

The plane crashed at 3:44 p.m. into the rear parking lot of an industrial building in the 3700 block of Industry Avenue, near Bixby Road, in Lakewood, airport and fire officials said. The building is across the street from the airport.

The identities of the two men aboard the plane were not released Sunday evening.

Airport spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson said she was not aware of any damage to buildings or property on the ground.

But Jeff Reeb, a battalion chief with the Long Beach Fire Department who responded to the crash, said one car was damaged.

Reeb said the plane came down at a “rather steep angle” when it crashed and caught fire.

Authorities did not immediately know the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has been called in to investigate.

Weather is not believed to have been a factor because there was no cloud cover or rain at the time the plane took off.

Firefighters from Long Beach and Los Angeles County responded to the scene and quickly put out a small fire, said county fire dispatch supervisor Art Marrujo.

A passerby, Brent Hatcher, 17, said he was walking with his friends to an arcade when “we saw a big cloud of black smoke.”

“They put it out real quick,” he said.