Pilot in deadly OC plane crash had false credentials, authorities say

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (FOX 11) - A man killed in a small plane crash in an Orange County neighborhood had false credentials of the Chicago Police Department at the time of the accident, authorities said.

Officials identified the pilot as 75-year-old Antonio Pastini. His Cessna 414 airplane crashed Sunday in the city of Yorba Linda, leaving debris on the streets and igniting a house fire.

Pastini and four others were killed in the crash. Two people were injured, officials said.

During a press conference Monday, Pastini was identified as a Chicago Police Officer from Gardnerville, Nevada. Investigators found a Chicago Police Department badge and retirement papers on him at the time of the crash.

However, Chicago police officials said they had no record of Pastini working for the force there. The Chicago Police Department also told investigators the credentials found on Pastini were not legitimate.

Officials said it was not immediately clear why Pastini was carrying false credentials.

Pastini took off from Fullerton Municipal Airport Sunday around 1:30 p.m. He was heading back to Nevada after spending the weekend with his daughter and 11-year-old granddaughter.

"A few witness reports say they saw the plane coming out of a cloud at a very high speed before parts of the plane started to break off," said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator Maja Smith.

The NTSB said an in-flight break-up was consistent with the trail of parts stretching across four blocks in Yorba Linda.

The official cause of the crash remained under invesigation.