Single-Engine Plane Crashes Into Office Building, Killing 4

A single-engine airplane crashed into a medical office building shortly after taking off Sunday, killing all four people aboard and setting the building on fire.

No one on the ground was injured.

The Beechcraft Sundowner crashed into the roof of the three-story building at about 10:30 a.m. after leaving the Torrance airport, said Jerry Johnston, regional operations officer for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The building, which has office space for doctors, physical therapists and others, apparently was unoccupied at the time, fire Capt. John Vosper said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze within a couple of hours.

Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board had not determined the cause of the crash, and the victims’ identities were not known.

Torrance is about 12 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.