A small plane that had just taken off from Riverside Municipal Airport crashed into a nearby neighborhood, killing three people aboard the plane and injuring two others, according to a news report.
Riverside Fire Department officials said the Cessna 310 carried a wife, husband and their daughter as well as two other women who had just attended a cheerleading competition at Disneyland. Relatives have identified the deceased victims as Adine Farelas, 22; Nouri Hijazi and Dana Hijazi of San Jose. The two survivors included the Hijazi’s daughter, Stacey Pierce, and Silvia Farelas, mother of Adine Farelas, also of San Jose.
Nouri Hijazi was piloting the 43-year-old plane, which is registered in his name, when it went down a mile east of the airport. Stacey Pierce and Silvia Farelas were ejected upon impact and survived; the Hijazis and Adine Farelas died in the crash.
The plane landed on two homes on Rhonda Avenue in Riverside. No one was at home in either house at the time of the crash. Stacey Pierce was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in critical condition with burns over 90 percent of her body; Silvia Farelas suffered only minor injuries and was being treated at Riverside Community Hospital.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the plane crash.
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