Small plane went into nosedive before fatal crash at Upland airport, preliminary NTSB report says

UPLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- A small plane went into a nosedive before a fatal crash at an airport in Upland late last month, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to the report, a witness at Cable Airport saw the Beech P-35 airplane in a nose-high profile during the takeoff initial climb on July 30.

But at about 300 to 400 feet above ground, the left wing dropped and the airplane took a nosedive.

Airport surveillance video confirms the account.

Three people are dead after a small plane crashed into a hangar at Cable Airport in Upland Sunday morning.

The airplane crashed into the roof of a hangar and caught on fire. San Bernardino County firefighters responded to the scene extinguished the blaze. They managed to stop the flames from spreading to the rest of the hangar and the three helicopters that were being housed inside.

The pilot and two passengers were killed. No one inside the airport hangar was injured.

Two other small-plane crashes happened earlier last month near French Valley Airport in Riverside County.