Two people died Friday in a single-engine plane crash just west of the Van Nuys Airport.
The crash occurred at 3:04 p.m. in a parking lot in the 6900 block of North Hayvenhurst Avenue, according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
A witness said that the plane made a steep climb, stalled, then nose-dived into the ground.
Preliminary information indicates that the single-engine Navion B plane had taken off from Van Nuys Airport and was heading for Santa Ynez Airport in Santa Barbara County, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Ian Gregor, who says the plane caught fire after crashing.
Two victims died at the scene, Prange said, but it was not released if they were occupants of the plane.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and put out flames from the crash, which is under investigation.
"The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate," Gregor said. "The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will determine the probable cause of the accident."
