LOS ANGELES, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A small, single-engine airplane Friday afternoon crashed into a hillside in Mentone, 106 kilometers east of Los Angeles downtown, claiming three lives.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Ian Gregor was quoted by the KTLA news channel as saying that the single-engine Cessna 172 plane crashed "under known circumstances," and the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation.
The incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. local time, police told KTLA, adding that all three people who were believed to have been on board were killed.
Video clips posted online showed a largely intact plane lying on scrubby ground just below a ridgeline with body and wings broken.
There was no immediate word on the plane's departure point or intended landing site. Enditem
