4 victims identified as family members in deadly Yorba Linda plane crash

Authorities on Wednesday released the names of the four people killed inside a Yorba Linda home Sunday when a plane crashed hours before the Super Bowl.

Those killed include Roy Lee Anderson, 85, and his wife, Dahlia Marlies Leber Anderson, 68, as well as two relatives, Stacie Norene Leber, 48, of Corona and Donald Paul Elliott, 58, of Norco. The plane crashed into the Andersons’ home, where Leber and Elliott were guests.

The families of the victims issued a joint statement describing the loss.

“We are devastated by our loss of our family members who will be greatly missed. Our family bond is tight and each member lost in this tragedy represents more than just one role within our family,” they wrote. “We want to thank our extended family and friends who have provided amazing support, kindness and compassion. It takes a village.”

They also thanks first responders for their efforts.

The Cessna plane took off from Fullerton Airport around 1:35 p.m.

It had flown about 10 miles, reaching as high as 7,800 feet, when witnesses saw it coming through the clouds in one piece, authorities said. Moments later, its tail came off. Then its wings.

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A Cessna 414 that had just taken off from Fullerton Municipal Airport crashed into a Yorba Linda home on Sunday afternoon, killing five people, including the pilot.  

The plane plunged into a two-story Yorba Linda home at 1:45 p.m., setting it on fire and killing everyone inside. Debris was strewn across four blocks of the residential neighborhood, among as many as 16 homes.

At one home, a piece of the plane’s engine knocked down a pillar on the front porch and torpedoed through a first-floor window, flying through two rooms before landing in a bathroom. Fragments of exhaust pipe crashed through a second-floor window and melted into the carpet. A propeller thumped onto the driveway.

A source familiar with the investigation said it appears the plane broke apart in midair, and there is nothing to suggest foul play or that the crash was intentional.

The plane’s pilot, who also died, was identified as 75-year-old Antonio Pastini of Nevada.

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board combed through the wreckage Monday and collected pieces of the aircraft, which were being taken to a Phoenix storage facility.

NTSB officials said the investigation could take 18 months.