Pilot made a panicked attempt to land before a crash in Southern California that killed 2
Pilot made a panicked attempt to land before a crash in Southern California that killed 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a small plane attempted to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff before crashing through the roof of a building in Southern California, according to air traffic control audio that includes panicked gasping and a female voice saying, “Oh my God,” moments before the crash.
The crash Thursday left two people dead and 19 injured. The plane was owned by Pascal Reid of Huntington Beach, California, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. The Huntington Beach High School girls soccer team posted Friday on Instagram that Reid and his daughter Kelly, a student at the school, died in a plane crash.
“Yesterday our soccer family suffered an unimaginable loss,” the post read. “Kelly was a natural caregiver and always put others first. She will be deeply missed. Her father was at every single game, always so proud of his daughter.”
The coroner’s office hasn’t yet identified the dead or confirmed they were on the plane.
The plane had just taken off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport when the pilot told the air traffic control tower, “Immediate landing required.”
The pilot initially told the air traffic controller that he planned to land on Runway 6. The air traffic controller then told another aircraft to turn away from that area and told the pilot he could land on either Runway 6 or 24. The pilot responded that he was going to land on Runway 24 instead. Moments later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” could be heard just before the audio went quiet.
Federal investigators said the aircraft asked for a return to the airport at about 900 feet (274 meters). It crashed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) short of Runway 24, through a sprawling furniture manufacturing building owned by Michael Nicholas Designs.
According to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report, the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.”
Eleven people were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. The injuries ranged from minor to very serious, said Michael Meacham, Fullerton deputy chief of fire operations.
Security camera footage from Rucci Forged, a wheel manufacturer across the street, shows the plane was tilted on its side as it dove into the building, causing a fiery explosion and a black plume of smoke.
Chris Villalobos, an airport operations worker, said the airplane’s owner was a regular at the airport with his own hangar and had frequently taken off from there.
The FAA identified the plane as a single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10, a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. Investigators said the aircraft was built in 2011.
Tim Olson, an aviation enthusiast and an early purchaser of the RV-10 plane kit, said he had exchanged emails with Reid over the years and knew him as a “diligent, responsible” pilot and aircraft builder. Olson said the RV-10 had become popular as an “easy-to-build” plane from a reputable kit manufacturer. He said he has flown more than 1,500 hours on his own plane, even taking it to the Cayman Islands.
“It’s real sad to hear that it ended this way for him,” Olson said. “I know from talking back and forth that he did travel, camped out with his plane around the country a bunch.”
Reid’s daughter Kelly is listed on school sports websites as a junior at Huntington Beach High School who played flag football, soccer and lacrosse.
The airport in Fullerton has one runway and a heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.
The Fullerton City Council posted a statement on social media calling the crash a “solemn tragedy.”
“The City of Fullerton is committed to providing support for all those affected and working with the agencies involved to uncover the details of this incident,” Mayor Fred Jung said in the statement. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis.”
Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the airport in November while making an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, The Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.
Fullerton is a city of about 140,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
By JAIMIE DING
Associated Press
