Three dead in Hawthorne plane crash
A single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff this afternoon at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport, killing all three people aboard, authorities said.
The Beechcraft 36 Bonanza had just taken off when it reported mechanical difficulties about 4:20 p.m. and crashed into a parking lot on the southern edge of the airport, just north of Jack Northrup Avenue, according to Inspector Frank Garrido of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He said the plane did not strike any vehicles or buildings, and no one outside the plane was injured.
The names of those killed in the crash were not immediately released.
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle, said the plane was registered as N618MW. FAA records show that plane was manufactured in 2005 and is owned by Carpet Pros Inc., a flooring store in Lawndale.
No one answered the phone at the store early this evening.
