Newly released audio has revealed the chilling final words of a pilot before his plane crashed into two California home, killing himself and one other.
The unidentified pilot could be heard telling air traffic control that ‘the plane keeps turning on me’ at around 2pm on Saturday before the small aircraft crashed into two Simi Valley homes.
‘I need vectors,’ the pilot told air traffic control. Vectors are provided by the tower to help with navigation.
‘626 Bravo, you’re coming in broken and unreadable,’ the controller replied. They tried to make contact with the pilot twice, but were unsuccessful, KTLA reported.
The aircraft crashed into the homes with a loud bang and a fire broke out. The people inside the homes were able to evacuate.
The two people on board and an animal died in the crash, the outlet said.
The identities of the pilot and passenger on board have not been publicly released, but the plane is owned by Paul Berkovitz, who rescues dogs with his plane, the outlet reported.
Arnaldo Gonzalez, a resident in the neighborhood, told KTLA that he had noticed ‘something was off’ with the plane as the aircraft was flying at a low altitude.
The unidentified pilot could be heard telling air traffic control that ‘the plane keeps turning on me’ around 2pm on Saturday (pictured: the crash)
The aircraft crashed into the homes with a loud bang and a fire broke out. The people inside the homes were able to evacuate
The identities of the pilot and passenger on board have not been released but the plane is owned by Paul Berkovitz (pictured) who rescues dogs with his plane
‘He was just hitting the gas on and off and going in circles very, very low,’ he told KTLA.
Witnesses said the plane was circling above the neighborhood and appeared to be ‘flying on its side’ before crashing into one home.
‘There was another two minutes of this thing flying around… it was wobbling and just barely made it over the hill,’ one witness told ABC 7.
Arman Hovakemian, a local homeowner, described the terrifying moment the plane crashed.
‘I came in to the patio door to warn her, and then I heard the bang, then I turned around, she was almost out,’ Hovakemian said.
His family’s Ring camera captured an explosion and flames from the back of their property.
Hovakemian told ABC7 that he quickly grabbed a hose to try to extinguish the flames.
‘I saw the fire on the plane, and then I saw the fire on the house. I kept the hose on the plane and then it just exploded,’ he said.
Arnaldo Gonzalez told KTLA that he had noticed ‘something was off’ with the plane as the aircraft was flying at a low altitude
The NTSB’s preliminary report suggested the plane’s door may have been improperly secured
‘I needed to back away because I could smell a lot of gas and fuel.’
Firefighters had to cut through the Hovakemian’s roof to access the flames, noting extensive damage to the back of the Wood Ranch community home.
The home-built plane had departed from Lancaster and headed to the Camarillo Airport, the FAA said.
The crash is still under investigation.
The NTSB’s preliminary report suggested the plane’s door may have been improperly secured.
A full preliminary report on the Simi Valley crash could take weeks to release, with a final report expected months later.
