New York, July 05: A small private plane crashed into a crowd celebrating the fourth of July holiday in a park in sub-urban Los Angeles killing at least one person and injuring 16 others, including five children, authorities said. The twin-engined Cessna 310 crashed into the picnic area of Frank Bonelli park around 12.35 pm yesterday (0205 IST today) shortly after taking off from a nearby airport. It hit a tree and then broke in two after it crashed, witnesses said. “One adult was killed. Three of the injured children were in a critical condition,” fire department spokesman Capt Mark Savage said.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman said, “The pilot and a passenger of the four-seater plane survived the crash. Firefighters said they were not sure how many people were on the plane.

FAA officials said the plane never gained altitude after taking off from the Brackett field airport, but said the crash "looked like an accident".
Earlier, CNN reported that the pilot said he had trouble climbing and declared a mayday.
The incident happened about an hour after a shootout at nearby Los Angeles international airport, in which three people were killed.


The Bonnelli park, about 48 kms east of Los Angeles, is a favourite picnic destination.

Bureau Report