Autopsy Set For Agua Dulce Plane Crash Victims

AGUA DULCE (CBS) -- Investigators sought to determine on Friday the cause of a fiery small plane crash that killed three people in rural Agua Dulce, between Canyon Country and Palmdale.

Speed, Weather Factors In "Horrific" Crash: KNX 1070's Chris Sedens Reports

Autopsies were pending on the bodies of the three dead passengers, who remained unidentified by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner, after their single-engine Cirrus SR22 crashed Thursday near Canyon Quail Trail and Darling Road, said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane crashed near a barn, and three horses were killed or fatally injured, authorities said.

FAA investigators were working to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred under overcast skies, Gregor said.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Matt Levesque described the scene as "pretty horrific" and said the bodies were badly disfigured.

"The plane came in at a high rate of speed, so there is a lot of damage to the scene in the area," Levesque said Thursday.

The Cirrus SR22 is typically configured with four seats. In 2007 it was considered the world's best-selling single-engine, four-seat aircraft for several years, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

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