California Aviation Accident: Plane Crashes On School Playground In Santa Barbara County, Pilot Killed

The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after the aircraft crashed on the grounds of a school in northern Santa Barbara County, California, on Wednesday (May 20).

The plane, Cirrus SR20, crashed onto the basketball courts of Ralph Dunlap Elementary School in the Orcutt area after it took off from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles just before 10:45 a.m. local time (1:45 p.m. EDT). The plane, that was headed for Santa Maria, burst into flames and firefighters from the Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria fire departments immediately arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames. The pilot died at the scene. The identity of the victim was not revealed.

Confirming the incident, Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said, “We believe the pilot was the only person on board. The plane had departed from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles (County) and was headed to Santa Maria.”

Nobody was on the campus when the crash took place as the school was closed due to the stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, speaking to NBC/CW+-affiliated television station KSBY, Andrew Perez, who lives in the Orcutt neighborhood, said he was working on a nearby roof when he saw the aircraft crash.

"I heard a noise and looked up and all of a sudden we see a parachute fall out and as soon as the parachute hit the floor it just ignited right away," Perez said, adding that he was “just in shock.”

Recalling the incident, Laura Lutz, another resident, said, "Just getting into the car and heading home and saw just a big puff of black smoke and thought what the heck.”

The crash was being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The incident comes less than a month after a student pilot was killed and the flight instructor gravely injured after a small plane hooked to the power lines and crashed in Florida. The plane, Piper PA-34, was registered to Wayman Aviation Flight School and the student pilot, identified as 25-year-old Mark Daniel Scott, was on the verge of completing his training.