Aviation Accidents: 10 Dead In California, Oklahoma Crashes, Switzerland Incident Kills 20

Five people were killed when a small aircraft crashed in the parking lot of a shopping center in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California, on Sunday. This was the third aviation accident happened in the last three days across the globe.

The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. EDT) in the 3800 block of Bristol Street in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa. The crash site is about one mile northwest of the northern end of the runway at John Wayne Orange County Airport, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Prior to the crash, the aircraft had contacted the control tower of the nearby airport to obtain permission for landing in one of their runways, following an emergency. The nature of the emergency is unknown.

According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesman Peter Knudson, the aircraft was cleared by the control tower for landing at the airport, but moments later it crashed. All the five victims were passengers onboard the plane. No one on the ground was injured, Orange County Fire Authority confirmed.

Shortly after the crash, the OCFA PIO tweeted:

In a later tweet, it added: “Aanta Ana - At approx 12:30 pm a small plane crashed into a parking lot in the 3800 blk of S. Bristol St. Five people on the plane have died. No injuries on the ground. OCFA & Santa Ana PD are in Unified Command. S. Bristol is closed between Sunflower & Callens Common.”

Pictures and videos of the crash were circulating on social media:

The parking lot where the crash took place includes a Staples, a CVS drug store and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, all of which normally buzz with people at the hour that the plane crash took place.

“It could’ve been much worse,” OCFA Public Information Officer Tony Bommarito said. “The fact that there was no injuries on the ground is a miracle in itself.”

A red sedan on the ground was struck by debris from the plane crash, which destroyed its windshield and trunk.

A witness to the crash, who identified herself as Ella Pham, told USA Today: “It actually came down in front of us. We looked up and we just saw a plane fall. It lost control and it just fell straight down. It didn’t even look like it was trying to land. There was no fire, no flames, no smoke, nothing. It was almost silent.”

The aircraft in question was a 1973 Cessna 414 fixed wing plane, which was registered to Category III Aviation Corp in San Francisco, according to Federal Aviation Administration, which was assisting NTSB in the investigation. It had flown in from East Bay suburb of Concord, California.

According to Heavy, Costa Mesa is no stranger to plane crashes. Last year in June, two people were injured after a small plane crashed on the 405 freeway.

Aviation incidents over the weekend

Two other plane crashes were also reported over the weekend. A Junkers Ju-52 plane, operated by Swiss company Ju-Air crashed into the Swiss Alps, less than 50 minutes after taking off from Locarno's Magadino airfield on. It steadily kept dropping at a vertical angle before it hit the Piz Segnas Mountain, shortly before 5 p.m. local time (EDT) Saturday, CBS News reported.

The plane was built in 1939 and retired by Switzerland's air force in 1981. It was occupied by 17 passengers and three crew members. There were no survivors.

The aircraft had ventured on a two-day trip to the Ticino region, and was on its way back to air force base at Duebendorf, near Zurich. Since the plane was used by the military during World II, it lacked "black boxes," crash-resistant cockpit voice and data recorders that normally make it easier for investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

Daniel Knecht of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board said Sunday at a news conference that the investigators will have to rely on the comparisons of “various indications, information and evidence and evaluate them” to solve the mystery behind the crash.

In a second incident, a small plane from Independence, Kansas, crashed in Northern Oklahoma, on Sunday, on its way to Ponca City Airport. Five people were killed on the spot.

“With immense sadness we have lost one of our own from our Montgomery County Rural Fire family. Earlier today Sycamore Firefighter Nicholas Warner, 2 of his sons, his dad Bill, and friend Tim Valentine passed away in an aircraft accident outside of Ponca City Oklahoma. Our deepest Sympathies go to Brenda, Kaylee, Lisa, Jessica and their entire families and dear friends,” Independence Rural Fire Department said in a statement, CBS affiliated KWCH reported.

The aircraft was a six-seater corporate plane, Extra EA-400. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.