A twin-engine aircraft crashed at the parking lot near the South Coast Plaza shopping centre killing five people on board. The aircraft took off from the Concord's Buchanan Field in the East Bay on Sunday evening. No one on the ground was injured but a vacant car on the parking was severely damaged.
At the time of the mishap, a fire crew was eating lunch nearby and rushed to the spot for immediate rescue. A report on ABC7 News, stated that the family members have identified one victim as Nasim Ghanadan, 29, a realtor for Pacific Union in the East Bay on the flight for work.
Ghanadan's description on the company's website reads, "Nasim's clients appreciate her honesty, tenacious work ethic, strong negotiation skills and cheerful spirit." Later, it was revealed that all the flight passengers worked for the company and were on board for Atlantic Aviation, one of the airport's private contractors.
"The plane had been given the approval to land at John Wayne Airport after the pilot declared an emergency. Information on the nature of the emergency wasn't immediately available," Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating along with the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a press meet.
Five killed as light aircraft crashes into Southern California car park pic.twitter.com/ZhDGASeNgr
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) August 6, 2018
Five dead after small plane crashes in Southern California parking lot. Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi said that five people were killed when a twin-engine aircraft crashed in the parking lot of an office supply store in Santa Ana, California pic.twitter.com/ZeNKEiYlZ5
— Sherman (@Shermanbot) August 5, 2018
Five people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed near the South Coast Plaza shopping center in the U.S. state of California, authorities said. https://t.co/MRiPwWCdKL pic.twitter.com/BqCZFKR9GU
— CCTV (@CCTV) August 6, 2018
Stores around the crash site (which was just 11/2 miles from the airport) were immediately evacuated. "Nobody on the ground was injured, so I don't know anything about what this pilot did or what he was thinking, but it could have been much more tragic. This is a Sunday afternoon, and we have people shopping, so the fact that there are no injuries on the ground is a miracle in itself," Capt. Tony Bommarito, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority, was quoted saying.
