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Plane crash reported in El Cajon near Gillespie Field

Plane crash reported in El Cajon
Posted at 10:18 AM, Dec 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-18 00:50:17-05

EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) -- Three people were taken to the hospital after a plane crash in El Cajon Sunday morning. 

Two of the passengers were Huntington Beach Police officers.

The crash happened on the 1900 block of Gillespie Way just before 10 a.m. The site of the crash is two blocks from Gillespie Field, an airport in the area.

The plane had just taken off before the pilot made an emergency call. According to the FAA, the pilot began experiencing problems with the engine and attempted to turn around.

The plane did not make it back to the runway, instead crashing into a parking lot.

It came to rest on a small embankment along a metal fence. The fire damaged three Cox Communications trucks that were parked along the fence.

RELATED: Two dead, two injured after plane crashes into house in Clairemont

Video taken moments after the plane crash shows massive flames erupting from the small plane. 

Witnesses said all three men inside escaped before the plane caught on fire.

A family friend told 10News, one of the passengers needed surgery. The other two had minor injuries.

The crash comes a little more than a week after a plane crashed into a Clairemont home, killing two people and sending two others to the hospital.