Small plane crashes into hangar at Santa Monica Airport

A small plane landing at Santa Monica Airport on Sunday evening veered off the runway and struck a nearby hangar, authorities told The Times.

The plane, a twin-engine Cessna Citation, went off the right side of the runway after landing at 6:20 p.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.

The plane had departed from Hailey, Idaho, Gregor said.

Those at the airport at the time of the crash said they heard loud explosions. Staff at the airport’s front desk said they saw firetrucks gathered on the tarmac.

The Santa Monica Police Department and the Santa Monica Fire Department responded to the scene, authorities said. Information about the number of people on board or their conditions was not immediately available.

Jack Bonner, a 15-year-old sophomore at Santa Monica High School, was hanging out with a friend at his home on 21st Street when he heard a loud boom “like a thunderclap.”

“I was like, ‘Wow, what the heck is going on?’” Jack said. He turned on the TV and saw that a plane had crashed at the airport.

Bonner said he and his friend, Michael Hakim, ran outside to take pictures of smoke curling from the hangar.

The Cessna business jet is registered to Creative Real Estate Exchange LLC, a real-estate company based in Alabama and Georgia, according to the firm’s website. The owner of the plane lives in Malibu, according to FAA records.

The plane had made eight flights since Sept. 15, according to flight tracking websites, including four between Hailey and Santa Monica.

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