Twin-engine plane crashes into Norco prison, sparking fire
A twin-engine airplane crashed today within a prison compound in Norco, sparking a fire and causing unknown injuries to the pilot.
The crash was reported about 12:10 p.m. at the California Rehabilitation Center on Fifth Street, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/CBSLA/status/1120420357503115265″,”author_name”:”CBS Los Angeles”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/CBSLA”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;&#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;#BREAKING&#lt;/a&#gt; Cessna plane crashes into state prison facility in Norco; area of facility where crash occurred currently under construction&#lt;br&#gt;&#lt;br&#gt;No immediate word on injuries &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/qAJKaixq6B”&#gt;https://t.co/qAJKaixq6B&#lt;/a&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/Sgydd0kSvb”&#gt;pic.twitter.com/Sgydd0kSvb&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/CBSLA/status/1120420357503115265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;April 22, 2019&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
The Northrop N9M went down in an area of the prison yard under construction, according to reports from the scene and the Federal Aviation Administration. The N9M is configured like a flying wing, with two push-propellers mounted behind the cockpit.
FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the circumstances of the accident — including the condition of the pilot, who was the sole occupant of the plane — were not immediately known.
“The aircraft sustained substantial damage,” Kenitzer said, adding that the National Transportation & Safety Board will be handling the ensuing investigation.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/RSOPIOWest/status/1120462661551050753″,”author_name”:”Riverside County Sheriff PIO-West”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/RSOPIOWest”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;&#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Norco?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;#Norco&#lt;/a&#gt; Update: RSO can confirm that the Coroner’s Bureau is at the scene and assisting with the fatal plane crash. Unknown number of occupants on the plane. No other details available to release at this time. &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/zV2QBLqx0n”&#gt;https://t.co/zV2QBLqx0n&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Riverside County Sheriff PIO-West (@RSOPIOWest) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/RSOPIOWest/status/1120462661551050753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;April 22, 2019&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
Correctional personnel and county firefighters contained the fire within 20 minutes, according to reports from the scene.
There was no word on where the flight originated. There are four airports in the vicinity — Chino Municipal, Corona Municipal, Riverside Municipal and Ontario International. Chino is home to a number of vintage and experimental aircraft. The airport is roughly 2.5 miles northwest of the prison.
KABC is reporting the aircraft was identified as a Flying Wing owned by the Planes of Fame Air Museum in nearby Chino. The museum’s website says the plane was built in 1944 and is considered a forerunner of the modern B-2 stealth bomber. Northrop built four prototypes, but there was only one remaining, the museum said. The museum completed restoration of the aircraft in the 1990s and completed flight testing in 1996. Its specs say it was just over 17 feet long and could hit a top speed of 220 mph.
There were no injuries to staff or inmates at the lockup. The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation was expected to issue a statement about the crash later Monday.
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