Pilot made a panicked attempt to land before a crash in Southern California that killed 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a small plane attempted to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff before crashing through the roof of a building in Southern California, according to air traffic control audio that includes panicked gasping and a woman’s voice saying, “Oh my God,” moments before the crash.

The crash Thursday left two people dead and 19 injured. Authorities haven’t yet identified the dead or confirmed whether they were on the plane.

The plane had just taken off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport when the pilot told the air traffic control tower, “Immediate landing required.”

The pilot initially told the air traffic controller that he planned to land on Runway 6. The air traffic controller then told another aircraft to turn away from that area and told the pilot he could land on either Runway 6 or 24. The pilot responded that he was going to land on Runway 24 instead. Moments later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” could be heard just before the audio went quiet.

Federal investigators said the aircraft asked for a return to the airport at about 900 feet (274 meters). It crashed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) short of Runway 24, through a sprawling furniture manufacturing building owned by Michael Nicholas Designs.

According to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report, the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.” The plane is registered to a resident of Huntington Beach.

Eleven people were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. The injuries ranged from minor to very serious, said Michael Meacham, Fullerton deputy chief of fire operations. The two people who died were believed to have been on the plane and have not been identified.

Security camera footage from Rucci Forged, a wheel manufacturer across the street, shows the plane was tilted on its side as it dove into the building, causing a fiery explosion and a black plume of smoke.

Chris Villalobos, an airport operations worker, said the airplane’s owner was a regular at the airport with his own hangar and had frequently taken off from there.

The FAA identified the plane as a single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10, a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. Investigators said the aircraft was built in 2011.

The airport in Fullerton has one runway and a heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.

The Fullerton City Council posted a statement on social media calling the crash a “solemn tragedy.”

“The City of Fullerton is committed to providing support for all those affected and working with the agencies involved to uncover the details of this incident,” Mayor Fred Jung said in the statement. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis.”

Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the airport in November while making an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, The Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.

Fullerton is a city of about 140,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.