Stolen small plane crashes into hangar at Southern California airport

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A single-engine small plane stolen from a flight school crashed into a hangar at a Southern California airport early Thursday, local media reported.

One suspect has been taken into custody after a Cessna C172 aircraft struck the exterior wall of a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, local television station KTLA reported, citing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The crash occurred at a flight training facility, where authorities believe the plane was taken, the report said.

Authorities said the plane did not take off but instead hit the hangar while taxiing on the ground. The aircraft was later removed from the hangar and moved inside the flight academy, according to the report.

Los Angeles Airport Police told local media that the suspect was arrested and booked for burglary and theft of an aircraft.

Van Nuys Airport, a general aviation airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, is one of two airports owned by Los Angeles World Airports. The other is Los Angeles International Airport.