Small plane crashes in Calif. neighborhood

Five people injured when twin-engine plane goes down in Compton

Dan Steinberg / AP

Utility crews shut off the natural gas to a home where a plane crashed in Compton, Calif., on Saturday.

Video: Life

Columbus sighting on Lake Michigan
July 16: Replicas of the Nina and Pinta, two 15th century ships used by Christopher Columbus, are sailing the Great Lakes. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

Football players rescue family after car crash

Florida woman turns 108

Tanker explodes, melts overpass

Phone pranksters scare hotel guests

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

NBC Field Notes

NBC News correspondents and producers across the U.S. shed light on the news of the day.

Photo features

NYT via Redux	The Week in Pictures Vibrant fields of sunflowers, a high-rescue drama and Michael Jackson memories are among this week’s attention-grabbing images.
EPA	PhotoBlog View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.

Most popular

updated 5:22 p.m. ET April 13, 2008

COMPTON, Calif. - A twin-engine plane crashed into two homes Saturday outside Los Angeles, injuring the two people on board and three on the ground, authorities said.

The Cessna 310 went down just before 4 p.m. near the Compton/Woodley Airport, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.

The plane's fuselage crashed through one roof, and its left wing lodged in a second home.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

The plane was carrying two men, and both were hospitalized in critical condition, Gregor said.

In one house, a woman was critically injured and a man suffered less serious injuries, Gregor said. In the other home, a woman complained of chest pains.

The crash did not cause a fire, according to Downey fire Capt. Lonnie Kroom.

Kenneth Wyatt said he was watching TV when he heard an enormous thud that "shook my house." Running outside, he first noticed debris and smoke. Then he saw what had happened.

"An airplane had come through the roof of my neighbor's home," Wyatt, 48, said.

The flight originated at Montgomery Field in San Diego and was heading for Hawthorne Municipal Airport, about 10 miles away.

The Cessna is owned by Eureka International of Carson City, Nev., Gregor said.

Hawthorne Airport has an air traffic control tower, but it wasn't clear whether the pilot was in contact with controllers.

Federal investigators are investigating the crash.