LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A fifth body was found Sunday in the wreckage of an apartment building that was demolished after being hit by a single-engine airplane.
County coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said the latest victim discovered was a passenger in the six-seat plane. The pilot and two other passengers also died in the crash.
Another body was believed to be a third-floor resident of the building. Coroner's investigators are examining dental and medical records to identify the victims.
Nearly all plane wreckage was removed from the building on Sunday, and authorities announced an end to the search for other victims. The National Transportation and Safety Board will attempt to reassemble the fuselage, but the cause of the crash could take months to determine.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Donald Austin said residents would be allowed back in Sunday night to retrieve essentials and other small items. A plan to remove larger belongings is expected by the end of the week, he said.
Austin said at least four of the 14 apartment units were destroyed. ``Some have no damage except for the firefighters breaking down the door,'' he said. ``Some units are in remarkably good shape.''
The plane nose-dived through the roof of the three-story building and crashed down two stories into the garage, where the pilot's body was found on top of a car next to the cockpit.
Seven other people were hurt in the disaster. Two remained hospitalized in stable condition Sunday.
All 17 people believed to have been inside the 15-unit building had been accounted for Sunday, but investigators continued to hunt for clues as to what caused the single-engine plane to crash Friday afternoon, minutes after it took off from Santa Monica Airport.
Authorities said there was no evidence of terrorism.
While most apartments were undamaged, city inspectors determined that the building was unsafe and posed an extreme danger to emergency workers.
LAFD Incident Update:AIRCRAFT INTO APARTMENT BUILDING:William R. Bamattre, Fire ChiefOn Friday, June 6, 2003 at 1553 hours, twenty-two companies of Firefighters, five Chief Officer Command Teams, eight Rescue Ambulances and other support resources from Los Angeles Fire Department, a Deputy Chief, a Battalion Chief, one Truck Company and other support resources from the Los Angeles County Fire Department all under the command of Deputy Chief Mario Rueda responded to 601 N. Spaulding Avenue in the Hollywood/Fairfax area.
First units on scene reported a portion of a fourteen-unit two-story apartment over parking structure well involved with fire on all three floors due to a small private aircraft that had crashed through the roof all the way to the ground floor.
Firefighters using hand lines confined the fire to the building and extinguished the fire in one hour and thirty-seven minutes. During primary search and rescue, the remains of two adults were found in the structure. During the secondary search the remains of three more adults were found.
Seven adult patients were assessed at the scene and three were transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with injuries ranging from minor to serious. A twenty-five year old male suffered burns to eighteen percent of his body and was subsequently transferred to The Grossman Burn Center in serious, but stable condition.
Approximately thirty occupants were evacuated to the Red Cross Center at Fairfax High School. No dollar loss has been established and the cause of the plane crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
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