Two people were killed when their small aircraft crashed into a house in San Diego after suffering engine failure.

The accident occurred about 4:35 p.m. when the Beech B36 Bonanza crash-landed in the baseball field of Lafayette Elementary School and skidded into the back of a home on Chandler Drive near Mt. Abernathy Place.

Neighbors said a family with a baby are renting the house. They were not home at the time. Their two dogs perished inside the house, neighbors and authorities said.

The six-seat plane took off from Montgomery Field, a half-mile to the east, about 4:30 p.m., and shortly after the pilot radioed an engine failure, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Brian Fennessy. The pilot reported an attempt would be made the land back at the airport.

It appeared the pilot tried to land the plane in the open space of the schoolyard and adjacent park, the chief said. The plane hit the ground upright and traveled 100 to 200 yards, plowed through at least one fence, then smashed into the house. – The San Diego Union Tribune

 

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