Small Plane Crashes In OC During Emergency Landing

FULLERTON, CA — A single-engine plane crashed in a commercial area near Fullerton Airport Monday, leaving two people aboard with "moderate" injuries.

The plane crashed around 1:45 p.m. in the 2400 block of Artesia Avenue, just ease of the airport, the Fullerton Police Department reported.

The plane was a Mooney M20, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which will take part in the investigation into the crash.

The two people aboard were pulled from the cabin by firefighters, and both were taken to UCI Medical Center with "moderate" injuries.

Fullerton Fire Department Division Chief John Miller told OnScene TV at the scene that the pilot was unable to make it back to Fullerton Airport, and it instead came down in the commercial area nearby.

It was unclear what caused the plane to make the emergency landing.

A witness told OnScene that the plane clipped a light pole then sheared a fire hydrant before coming to rest against a tree near a commercial building.

City News Service contributed to this report.