Small Business Jet Crashes in L.A.

LOS ANGELES – A small business jet crashed while taking off from Van Nuys Airport on Friday, federal officials said.

There was no immediate information on injuries, but little remained of the plane but smoldering ruins in a field near the San Fernando Valley airport. No structures appeared to be damaged.

The Cessna Citation twin-engine crashed as it was leaving the airport in the Los Angeles suburbs, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. It was headed to Long Beach, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles.

Depending on the model, a Citation can hold four to eight passengers, plus two pilots.

Van Nuys is the busiest general aviation airport in the nation, with an average of nearly 500,000 takeoffs and landings annually. It is owned by the city’s Los Angeles World Airports department.