The single-engine Cessna 182 struck the KFI Radio tower about 9:45 a.m. and the tower tumbled to the ground, said Bruce Nelson, operations officer for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles. The identities of the couple on board the plane were being withheld pending the notification of next of kin. A sheriff's spokeswoman said they were from the San Gabriel Valley and were in their early 50s.
No one else was injured in the crash, which caused a small fire that was extinguished by firefighters, officials said.
The plane was headed to Fullerton Airport from El Monte when it crashed, Nelson said. The pilot was in the ``base leg'' stage of the landing process, when the aircraft begins making its descent. The plane was about a mile from the airport when it struck the tower located in a commercial area, Nelson said.
The pilot did not issue any distress reports before the crash, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA were investigating.
Television footage showed the approximately 850-foot tall red-and-white tower in pieces on the ground.
KFI Radio, a talk and news station, was off the air for about an hour following the accident, said Leslie Lotto, an editor at the station.
The plane was registered to Lightning Aircraft Corp., an El Monte company that offers flying lessons and rents small planes. A woman who answered the phone at the company declined comment to the Los Angeles Times.
