2 injured after small plane crashes into tree near Fullerton Airport

FULLERTON, Calif. - Two people were injured after a small plane crashed into a tree in Fullerton.

The plane slammed into a tree around 1:45 p.m. Monday in the 2400 block of Artesia Avenue, near the Fullerton Airport, said Kristy Wells of the Fullerton Police Department.

The two people aboard the plane sustained moderate injuries and were extracted from the plane, she said.

Images from SkyFOX show the large tree trunk propped up against the pilot's seat. Parts of the door and hood were on the ground. 

Luckily, the plane did not catch on fire after it crashed. 

Chief John Miller with the Fullerton Fire Department said the plane was unable to make it to the airport and was forced to land nearby. 

A witness told FOX 11 he saw the plane in distress and moved away in fear of being hit. 

"I looked up and saw an airplane. Usually the flight pattern is over the buildings right over there. I saw it almost hit that tree, that pine tree, and it was pretty low and so I jumped up on the grass and I thought it was going to hit me, and then it broke part of the wing off when it hit that pole. It bounced and hit that fire hydrant, then that tree right there," said witness Scott Jennings. 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.