Glenknoll Elementary closes for one day following Yorba Linda plane crash

Updated at 4:19 p.m. on Feb. 4: The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has announced that Glenknoll Elementary School will reopen on Tuesday, Feb. 5 with its regular class and childcare schedules.

***

An elementary school in Yorba Linda was closed on Monday following the fatal crash of a small twin-engine plane into a nearby home a day earlier.

A command post was set up at Glenknoll Elementary School on Sunday following the fatal crash of a single-engine plane in Yorba Linda. (Photo courtesy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department)

Officials with the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District said Glenknoll Elementary has been designated as the incident command post for responding local and federal agencies. The district said it decided to close the campus for the day to support the investigation and because doing so was in best interest of local families.

“We do not believe the home most severely impacted by the crash belongs to any current PYLUSD students or employees,” read a district news release. “Nonetheless, we encourage you to keep those affected by this tragic incident in your thoughts and prayers.”

According to the Orange County Register’s coverage, the small Cessna 414A aircraft started to break up in flight Sunday afternoon before it went down, setting fire to a home in the 19900 block of Crestknoll Drive. The pilot and four people in the house were killed, officials said. Two additional victims were hospitalized.

PYLUSD leaders said counselors will be available to support students throughout the week. For more information, visit www.pylusd.org.