The residents of a Simi Valley neighborhood escaped death by a hair’s breadth after a small plane spiraled out of control and crashed.
Still, the impact killed two passengers and a dog on the spot while narrowly missing residents on the ground.
Watch the video down below.
The single-engine Vans RV-10 aircraft clipped two homes in the Wood Ranch area before exploding into flames.
The plane had departed from William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster and was heading to Camarillo Airport.
The incident forced homeowners to flee for their lives as investigators now work to determine what went wrong.
The tragedy occurred when the home-built aircraft began experiencing difficulties. Witnesses reported the plane was wobbling dangerously before the crash.
“There was another two minutes of this thing flying around…it was wobbling and just barely made it over the hill,” said one witness who observed the aircraft’s final moments.
The plane crashed into the residential neighborhood, striking two homes and causing significant damage.
Security footage captured the aircraft circling low over the neighborhood before the catastrophic impact, with a Ring camera recording the explosion and resulting fireball.
About 40 firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the blaze, which was successfully extinguished.
In what can only be described as a miracle amid tragedy, no residents were injured despite the extensive property damage.
Homeowner Arman Hovakemian and his wife escaped their house mere seconds before impact.
“I came in to the patio door to warn her, and then I heard the bang, then I turned around, she was almost out,” said Hovakemian, whose home suffered the most severe damage.
Firefighters had to cut through the roof to access the fire, and there was extensive damage to the back of the house.
The Hovakemian home has been red-taped as part of the federal investigation, preventing the family from returning.
“I’m numb. It hasn’t sunk in yet. We’re fortunate we were able to get out,” Hovakemian told reporters, still processing the near-death experience.
A second home belonging to P.J. Van Kralingen and his wife was also damaged in the crash.
Fortunately, no one was home at the time, though two of their dogs went missing during the chaos.
Another homeowner narrowly escaped death as the plane crashed exactly where he had been trimming vegetation moments earlier.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched an investigation into the crash.
Preliminary findings are expected in weeks, and a final report in months. Investigators will examine whether the misty, cloudy weather conditions contributed to the accident.
The RV-10 is typically sold as a kit for home assembly, raising questions about the aircraft’s maintenance and certification that will likely be addressed in the investigation.
Additionally, authorities have not yet released the identities of the deceased.
