Huntington Beach student athlete and father were the 2 killed in Fullerton plane crash

A Huntington Beach High athlete and her father died after a plane crashed into a furniture warehouse in Fullerton Thursday, according to members of the school’s soccer team.

Kelly Reid and her dad, Pascal Reid, were aboard a Van’s Aircraft RV-10 that struck Michael Nicholas Design Factory at 2330 Raymer Ave. on Thursday at about 2:30 p.m., members of the H.B. Oilers Girl’s Soccer Team wrote in a social media post Friday. The student athlete’s father was the registered owner of the small single-engine plane, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

“Kelly was a natural caregiver and always put others first,” members of the soccer team wrote in their post. “She will be deeply missed. Her father was at every single game, always so proud of his daughter.”

Reid played lacrosse and flag football in addition to wearing the number 6 for the varsity soccer team. The junior would have graduated in 2026.

The plane she and her father were in went down just minutes after taking off from Fullerton Airport. It climbed to about 900 feet before turning around in an attempt to return but crashed about 1,000 feet away from the runway. Eleven people were hospitalized and eight others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Soccer coach Raul Ruiz said Kelly Reid never left practice without saying goodbye and offering a fist bump to her teammates and coaches.

A small plane crashed through the roof of a commercial building just east of Fullerton Airport Thursday, sparking a fire in the structure and leaving a Huntington Beach father and daughter dead and another 18 injured.

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“You always wanted someone like that around on your team,” Ruiz said. “She was playing an important role in our team plan, made a huge contribution on the field. But her personality was contagious, and that’s what hurts.”

Reid had joined the soccer team for their first practice of the year on the day of the crash, Ruiz told the Daily Pilot in a phone interview. On Friday, her friends and loved ones gathered at a nearby church to mourn her.

“It hits us differently, especially her teammates and her best friends,” Ruiz said. “We’re just trying to hold each other, make each other strong and just keep embracing each other.”

City News Service as well as Los Angeles Times reporters Nathan Solis, Clara Harter, Summer Lin, Ruben Vives and Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.