Five perish as plane parts hit California house

YORBA LINDA, Feb 04 (AP): Five people died and two others were injured after a small plane apparently came apart, raining debris across a Southern California neighborhood and igniting a house fire before landing in a backyard, authorities said on Sunday.

The male pilot, who was the only person in the twin-engine plane, and four people in the Yorba Linda house that caught fire died Sunday, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Cory Martino said at a news conference Sunday night.

He says the deceased occupants of the home were two males and two females. No other identifying information such as names or ages was immediately released.

The Cessna 414A took off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport about a dozen miles west of the blaze, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

A two-story house burst into flames after being struck by the main cabin and one engine of the plane, sending panicked neighbors into the streets.