Woman is third person to die in fireball plane crash that killed two kids in California

By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-06 18:16:24 | Updated at 2026-09-12 20:26:48 6 days ago

A woman who was in a horror plane crash that killed two children near a California airport has died, cops revealed Sunday.

The fourth person who was in the plane remains in critical condition, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The crash happened in northwest Fresno near the San Joaquin River just before 2 p.m. Saturday, sending emergency crews scrambling to the scene.

A fixed-wing single-engine airplane burns atop the bluff of the San Joaquin River on Saturday in Fresno. Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Tony Botti, a public information officer for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, told The California Post authorities got the call around 1:50 p.m. about a plane crash near the far north end of Blythe Avenue, close to Sierra Sky Park.

Firefighters, cops and sheriff’s deputies arrived to find plane wreckage on a bluff near the river as flames tore across a nearby hillside.

An adult woman and two children were killed, and an adult man was left in critical condition following the crash. Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Two adults were rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

The victims’ identities and exact ages, relationships to each other have not yet been confirmed.

First responders work at the scene of the plane crash on the 7300 block of N. Blythe Avenue. Fresno County Sheriff's Office

What caused the plane to go down remains unclear as investigators begin piecing together the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are both involved, Botti said, with the NTSB taking the lead in determining what went wrong.

A secured perimeter was thrown around the wreckage Saturday to keep people out and give investigators room to work.

“Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and prevent them from spreading onto the properties of nearby homes,” the Fresno Count Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

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Fresno police, Fresno Fire Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, PG&E and North Central Fire Department also responded Saturday, according to ABC30.

The crash also knocked out power Saturday to nearby residents, although service was later restored, according to PG&E’s outage map.

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