Five passengers on board the twin-engine aircraft were killed after it crashed about a mile from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California.
Shortly after declaring an emergency on Sunday afternoon, the small plane took a sudden nosedive into a parking lot.
The dashcam footage captures the aircraft taking the near-vertical plunge.
Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi says the Cessna airplane was heading to the airport but couldn't make it in time.
The engine cut out and the plane struck an empty parked car outside of a Staples store.
Authorities say the five people killed were all on board the plane and nobody on the ground was hurt.
The five adults on the aircraft were believed to be travelling for work.
One of the victims has since been identified as 29-year-old Nasim Ghanadan.
Images from the scene show the extensive wreckage of the jet and damage done to an empty vehicle.
On Twitter an eyewitness wrote: "Never in my life did I think I would see a plane fall out of the sky."
A second onlooker said: "I actually saw the plane fall from the sky while I was a passenger in my husband’s car about 500 ft away from the crash site."
They added: "The plane came out of nowhere and fell very fast.
"So sad to hear about the passengers."
The Federal Aviation Administration are now said to be investigating the crash.
The parking lot is shared by a CVS pharmacy, a bank and an art-supply store.
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