Sunah Kim was waiting for her son at a week-long training camp at Tucker City Airsoft Training Center in Fullerton on Thursday afternoon when people rushed in screaming, saying they heard a loud bang and watched. Smoke billowing nearby.
“They were yelling ‘Oh my God -‘ and there was a crash,” training camp referee Peter Roberts said. “I thought they were talking about something else than what was happening around us.”
Kim and a center employee ran to her car and rounded the corner to find a furniture warehouse completely engulfed in flames. A small plane taking off from Fullerton Airport had just crashed into the building.
Kim, a nurse who lives in Seal Beach, said she had worked on a trauma team before and couldn’t believe she happened to be nearby.
King said she entered a “chaotic scene” where workers were badly burned and pieces of plane wreckage were strewn about as well as tools and furniture.
Authorities said the accident killed two passengers on board and injured 18 people on the ground.
A small plane crashed from the roof of a commercial building east of Fullerton Airport.
(OnScene.tv)
The names of the victims had not been officially released as of Friday evening, but the Huntington Beach High School football team identified them in an Instagram post as junior soccer player Kelly Reid and her father, Pascal. Pascal Reed of Huntington Beach is the registered owner of the plane, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
“Our football family suffered an unimaginable loss yesterday. Kelly Reed and her father Pascal were tragically killed in a plane crash,” the post read. “Kelly was an amazing girl…genuine, kind and passionate about life.”
The incident happened at the warehouse in the 2300 block of Remer Avenue just after 2 p.m. Thursday. Authorities identified the aircraft as an experimental single-engine Van’s RV-10.
Security camera footage captured the moment the plane hit the roof of a Michael Nicholas Design furniture warehouse store and exploded into a fireball, spewing thick black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the plane had climbed about 900 feet after takeoff, but the pilot immediately called the control tower to ask if he could return. The tower cleared the pilot to land, and he turned 180 degrees to the left before flying downwind and crashing into the building, authorities said.
On Friday, an employee at the furniture store waited outside for a call from her supervisor. She wanted to take some of her medications and personal belongings that she had left on her desk.
“They just told us to keep everything, so we did, but now we don’t know how long we have to wait to get it,” said the employee, who only identified herself as Catalina, citing fear of retaliation. “Some people have left their cars here because we were told investigators need to leave everything as it is.”
Rescue workers treat people injured after a small plane crashed through the roof of a warehouse in Fullerton.
(OnScene.tv)
Catalina was in another part of the warehouse when the plane crashed into the building. She said she “heard horrible noises” and then saw the translucent curtain that separated her department from another was on fire.
“We started screaming and ran out,” she said.
Catalina and dozens of employees escaped out the back door.
“We were in the middle of a furniture warehouse,” she said. “I still can’t believe what happened.”
Kim, a 16-year-old clinical nurse at Cedars-Sinai, said she has been impressed by the way people have come together during the crisis.
“In that moment, when you’re there, you try to help,” King said. “Taco City staff showed bravery in recognizing what was happening and responding.”
She and Taco City employees immediately treated the injuries while triaging injured workers, prioritizing those with the most severe burns.
“We separate those who need to go to the burn unit immediately from others so that when first responders arrive, they know who to help first,” King said. “I have a small emergency kit in my car and I do the best I can ”
King said she continued working as firefighters, paramedics and others arrived on the scene.
“I think they allowed us to continue to help because they appreciated our help.”
