2 survive after small plane crashes into Arizona airport building

The Associated Press

5 years ago

Police and fire personnel look on as workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into ... — Police and fire personnel look on as workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

As fire personnel look on, workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Workers set down a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A worker pulls debris off a single engine plane prior to removal after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A single-engine plane is hoisted up after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A worker moves around a single-engine plane prior to removal after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Police and fire personnel look on as workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Workers guide a single-engine plane to the ground after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Fire personnel hose down the crash site as workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Workers remove a single-engine plane after it crashed into the terminal building shortly after takeoff at the Ak-Chin Regional Airport Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Maricopa, Ariz. The two people onboard suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

MARICOPA, Ariz. — A small airplane crashed into the side of an airport building in Maricopa on Tuesday, landing upside down with its tail sticking out of the roof.

The single-engine aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff at 8:30 a.m. from Ak-Chin Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Azfamily.com reported that two people were onboard and were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One person inside the flight operations building at the time wasn’t hurt.

Airport Manager Tim Costello did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

According to the FAA registry, the Ercoupe 415-C is owned by Desert Aeroclub LLC. A website for Desert Aero Club lists contact information for Desert Rat Aviation based at the same airport. It also touts helping pilots and aviation fans with the “visceral experience” of flying classic aircraft.

The airport is owned and operated by the Ak-Chin Indian Community. It serves the Pinal County communities of Casa Grande and Maricopa and is 44 miles southeast of Phoenix.