A door was apparently not fully closed on a homebuilt airplane that crashed in Southern California earlier this month.

A small plane crashed near northbound Highway 101 in Goleta Wednesday afternoon, Santa Barbara County authorities said.

A witness saw the left main cabin door open during flight, and an examination of the door showed the interior handle was not in the locked position.

The door to a pilot's plane appeared to be ajar as it took off from Fullerton Airport, moments before it crashed into a warehouse, according to investigators.