Airplane Door Appeared to Be Open Before California Crash on Jan. 2 That Killed 2 and Injured 19, NTSB Report Says

A preliminary report from the NTSB found that a small plane which crashed into a warehouse near Fullerton, Calif., on Jan. 2, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others, appeared to have had one of its doors left ajar when it was in the air.

The NTSB said in its preliminary report, made public on Wednesday, Jan. 29, that the pilot had made a “series of modifications” to the doors on the “amateur built” small plane, a Vans Aircraft RV-10,
which affected its “indicator system” that would have notified the pilot that the door was not completely closed.

“The door latch indicator system supplied with the [plane-making] kit was comprised of four magnetic reed switches… on the accident airplane, it appeared that only two reed switches had been installed, with each mounted to the aft pillars of both doors,” the report states.

"As such, the modified system would not have warned the pilot if the forward latch pins had failed to fully engage,” the report concludes.

Related: Calif. High School Student, Dad Believed to Be Victims Killed on Board Plane When It Crashed into Warehouse

The report also included several accounts from witnesses, including one who had been on the airport ramp and said he noticed the plane’s “left door was open and up” shortly after the “airplane had departed the runway.”

“He then saw an arm reach up and pull the door down. By this time, the airplane was far enough away that he could no longer discern what was happening, and he assumed the pilot was able to rectify the situation,” the report reads.

Multiple witnesses who “were all pilots” and “observed the airplane during the final stages of the flight” said they noticed it “flying lower than normal” and “banking aggressively left.” They said they grew concerned the plane might “stall” after it rolled “aggressively again” and they could “almost see” the plane’s “full wing profile.”

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“The airplane then rolled right as its nose dropped, and dove towards the warehouse where it collided in a fireball,” according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. “The witnesses all stated that just before impact they saw a white piece fall from the airplane. They described the piece as panel-like, and said that it ‘floated’ or ‘fluttered’ to the ground.”

The Fullerton Police Department said the two people killed in the incident were "believed to have been in the aircraft at the time of the crash." They were identified by the Huntington Beach High School girls’ soccer and flag football teams as Kelly Reid and her father Pascal Reid.

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In a tribute on Instagram, the flag football team remembered Kelly as “the most loving teammate, friend and a truly remarkable person who touched the lives of so many with her kindness and warmth.”

Tim Olson, an aviation enthusiast, described Pascal to The Orange County Register as a “diligent” and “responsible” pilot and aircraft builder.

“It’s real sad to hear that it ended this way for him,” Olson told the outlet. “I know from talking back and forth that he did travel, camped out with his plane around the country a bunch.”

Nineteen other people were injured while working in the warehouse building that the plane crashed into at the 2300 block of Raymer Ave in Fullerton. The NTSB said that eight people were seriously injured in the crash and 11 others sustained minor injuries.

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