Vintage plane crashes after takeoff from Chino airport; 2 dead

Will Conybeare and Erin Myers

7 hours ago

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after a vintage aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Chino early Saturday afternoon, killing two people.

According to initial reports from the FAA, the twin-engine Lockheed 12A crashed shortly after takeoff from Chino Airport at 12:35 p.m.

There were two people on board the plane, the FAA said. According to preliminary information, both were found dead at the scene of the accident.

A video taken shortly after the crash appears to show the World War II-era plane’s engine separated from the fuselage in a grassy area not far from the runway. According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the plane caught fire after making an emergency landing west of the airport.

The firefighters only needed ten minutes to extinguish the flames, the Daily Bulletin said.

The identities of the victims have not yet been released, but a social media post suggests that one of them was a man named Frank Wright.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Wright, a 67-year-old Riverside resident, was one of the deceased victims.