Small Plane Crashes Into Los Angeles-Area Neighborhood, Killing 2 People and a Dog
Fire crews responded, and police cordoned off the streets, warning people to stay clear of the area. Smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of one home in the Wood Ranch section of the community, which lies nearly 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Wreckage could be seen between the two homes. The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that residents were inside at the time but said they evacuated with no reported injuries. Both homes sustained structural damage and were impacted by the fire, authorities said.
About 40 firefighters were on scene. With the flames out, they began working on salvage.
Officials initially reported one death. Later Saturday, the Simi Valley Police Department said the pilot, a passenger and a dog in the airplane died.
As of Sunday, authorities had not released any information about the occupants of the single-engine Van's RV-10, which is a popular home-built plane sold in kit form. They also did not say what might have caused the crash.
Related Stories
4/26/2025
4/24/2025
The plane crashed into the backyard and dining room of Arman Hovakemian's home. Hovakemian told the Los Angeles Times that he was doing yard work when he noticed the plane above, circling lower and lower in the hillside neighborhood.
He ran inside to get his wife, Armineh, and their Pomeranian dog, Koko, and they fled the property. A loud bang followed and the fuselage landed where he had been standing in the yard just moments before, he said.
'I'm numb. It hasn't sunk in yet,' Hovakemian said Saturday as dozens of firefighters and police officers surrounded his home. 'We're fortunate we were able to get out.'
In security video recorded by a neighbor that was viewed by the Times, the plane can be heard circling the neighborhood for nearly three minutes and flying close to homes at points. In another video, the plane can be seen shooting straight up into the clouds then dropping down again.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board also was on the scene Saturday. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said once the wreckage of the plane is documented, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation.
Investigators also will be combing through the plane's maintenance records, weather forecasts, recordings of any air traffic control communications, witness statements, the pilot's background and any surveillance video that might have captured the aircraft.
In January another Van's RV-10 crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton, which is southeast of Los Angeles, while trying to make an emergency landing, killing the pilot and his teen daughter and injuring 19 people in the building. A preliminary report issued by the NTSB said that plane appeared to have had a door ajar during flight.
It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Long Island City residents shaming dog owners for leaving waste on street
This is a real smear campaign. Long Island City's storied troubles with pooping pooches have reached new heights — as fed-up residents are posting pictures of pet owners who refuse to pick up after their dogs on social media to pressure them into doing the right thing. 'More people need to be called out for this!!!' one user wrote in a Reddit thread calling out a negligent dog owner. 6 Long Island City dog owners can't be bothered to pick up after their dogs, fed-up neighbors say. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post 'Shame shame shame until they learn a lesson. No one else is going to hold them accountable,' wrote another. The campaign sprouted primarily on Reddit earlier this summer, and consisted of frustrated residents snapping and sharing pictures of pet owners who refuse to scoop. 'It just started to get to a point where it's like, 'Oh, I have to move this way, and I have to move this way, and I have to move this way [to avoid the waste-littered sidewalk]. It's a disruptive obstacle to the day,' one shame campaigner, Molly Block, told The Post. 'We all share this neighborhood. We are neighbors with one another. Why are we behaving in this way that is disrupting the community that you share with your neighbors?' Block took to social media this month after fruitlessly confronting a man who watched 'his little Pomeranian poop and proceed not to pick it up.' He said he 'just didn't feel like it.' 6 Molly Block is one of several neighbors behind a shame campaign to pressure dog owners into picking up after the pooches. Katherine Donlevy 'He starts turning it on me and like calling me names and yelling at me. And then of course, my aggression came out, it was like, 'no, f–k you!' And then I was like, you know what? I'm going to take this to Reddit,' Block explained. She had seen other neighbors do the same, including some posts that included pictures of the perpetrators and their pooches caught in the act — which moderators eventually ripped down for privacy concerns. The move felt petty, but Block felt desperate for a change that wasn't being addressed otherwise. 'What can we as a community do to stop this? It's not the dog's fault, you know?' she said. The online shame campaign has been a hit among dog owners and non-owners alike. 6 Free doggie waste bags are available at Long Island City parks, but not always properly stocked. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post 6 Shame campaigns on Reddit are calling out negligent dog owners. Long Island City has long had a pup poo problem, with Community Board letters begging for the city to intervene dating back more than a decade. Some of the waterfront nabe's parks are plentiful with doggie bags, and nearly every block is littered with curb-your-dog signs, but it's not enough to stop naughty neighbors — some of whom put the waste in plastic baggies that they leave on the street. 6 'More people need to be called out for this!!!' one person on Reddit said. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post But the issue has seemingly only grown worse in recent years as its population surges, with one angry resident dubbing the nabe the 'dog s–t capital of New York.' 'It's more like Dog Island City. It's a s–thole,' a dog owner, who declined to share his name, said as he walked his pooch through the streets 'Everyone has a dog here, but no one wants to clean up after themselves.' Another man who works near Queens Plaza claims to see waste on the street every day, with the comparatively more considerate neighbors kicking dirt over poop piles to hide the evidence. 6 Signs reminding dog owners to take responsibility of their pets are littered throughout Long Island City. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post 'Every day. It's disgusting. If you can't pick up their crap then you shouldn't be able to have a dog,' the worker said. City Councilmember Julie Won told The Post that in addition to investing in trash bins and pick-up bags to curb the issue, providing dog owners with green space to relieve themselves could help end the poop problem. Her office pointed to Queensbridge as a particular hotspot, and called on the city Department of Transportation to return the area under the bridge to the public to add a seventh dog run to Long Island City. 'Investing in designated dog relief areas such as dog parks decreases dog waste on public streets. That's why I invested $1.2M for Murray Dog park renovations, went into construction for the Dutch Kills Baseline Dog Park, and reclaiming Queensbridge Baby Park Dog Run,' Won said.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Northern Colorado crews investigate after ultralight aircraft crashes in Larimer County
Crews rushed to investigate after an ultralight aircraft crashed in Northern Colorado on Wednesday morning. The crash happened about 8:40 a.m. on Larimer County Road 2 west of LCR 21. According to Andrew Kuiken, the Division Chief of Berthoud Fire, when crews arrived, the plane with a single occupant was on fire with nearby power lines down. The NTSB and the FAA are investigating the crash. The condition of the pilot is unknown. The CBS Colorado helicopter flew above the crash scene, where two other aircraft were seen parked in the field near the crash site. Kuiken confirmed that those aircraft were flying with the third craft when it crashed.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Boston Globe
Plane crashes into parked aircraft while landing at Montana airport, sparking fire
The small, city-owned airport is just south of Kalispell, a city of about 30,000 people in northwest Montana. Witnesses said a plane crash-landed at the end of the runway and careened into another aircraft, Kalispell Fire Chief Jay Hagen said. Advertisement The passengers were able to get out on their own after it came to a stop, Hagen said. Two were slightly hurt and treated at the airport, he said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Ron Danielson manages a nearby inn and said he heard and saw the crash before plumes of dark smoke filled the area. 'It sounded like if you were to stick your head in a bass drum and somebody smacked it as hard as they could,' he said. The flight originated in Pullman, Washington, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane was identified by the FAA as a Socata TBM 700 turboprop. It was built in 2011 and owned by Meter Sky LLC of Pullman, FAA records show. Company representatives did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment. Advertisement Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the FAA and NTSB, said incidents where planes crash into parked aircrafts happen a few times a year in general aviation. In one high-profile incident in February, a Learjet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil veered off a runway in Scottsdale, Arizona, and crashed into a parked Gulfstream, killing one person. The NTSB said that crash may have been related to prior damage to the landing gear, but investigators haven't determined the cause.
