4 die in plane crash at California airport

The plane went down at Corona Municipal Airport, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Firefighters found the plane burning in the brush on the east side of the airport, not far from one end of the runway.

Corona:Four people were killed Wednesday in the crash of a small airplane at a Southern California airfield.

The plane went down at Corona Municipal Airport, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.

Firefighters found the plane burning in the brush on the east side of the airport, not far from one end of the runway.

Four fatalities were confirmed, the Corona Fire Department said on Twitter.

Witness Dorothe Voll said she saw the plane strike a fence during takeoff, turn over and quickly catch fire. It got no more than about 3 feet off the ground, she told the Orange County Register.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The airport was closed to flights after the crash.

The airport is strictly for recreational aviation and has several hundred general aviation aircraft based there, according to its website.