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Pomona: Aircraft down - Update - Two people killed Saturday morning - Piper Cherokee

Posted: 16 Mar 2009 09:01 AM PDT

UPDATE: Two killed Saturday when small plane crashes in Pomona

Two people were killed Saturday morning after their small plane crashed in the hills above Pomona, authorities said.

The victims were described as a man and a woman. Their names were unavailable.

The plane, a single-engine Piper Cherokee, crashed into a hillside in the 2600 block of Pomona Boulevard, according to FAA information.

The plane crashed only three minutes after it left Brackett Airfield in La Verne at 11:12 a.m., according to recorded information from FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The plane was a 1979 Piper model PA-28-236. The aircraft is registered to Netsense Inc., a San Dimas business. A message left at the business seeking comment was not returned.

NTSB and FAA representatives were headed to the scene Saturday afternoon to start their investigation.

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Fredric Stowers said the fire department sent Urban Search and Rescue team members into the hillside to access the crash and put out a small fire that started shortly after.

"The plane completely disintegrated," Stowers said.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud noise as if a plane was flying close to the ground just prior to hearing the crash, Stowers said.

Garry Wilt of Pomona said the people killed in the crash were a husband and wife from La Verne and members of the Fullerton-based Skylarks Club. All five planes were based out of Brackett Field in La Verne, he said.

The planes were headed to Lake Mojave for lunch, a montly tradition for the group, Wilt said.

Wilt was flying a plane that followed the crashed aircraft.

Just before the crash, Wilt said radio traffic advised the plane, "Pull up, terrain, level your wings," Wilt said.

Moments later, attempts by a control tower to the plane went unanswered, at which point Wilt said he knew something was wrong.

Both husband and wife were skilled pilots, he said.

"They were two confident pilots," Wilt said. "Something went wrong here."

He does not believe the pilots would have intentionally flown so low to the ground.

Shortly before the flight, Wilt said the husband sat with him in his own plane to help him program his navigations system.

"The couple was happy and ready to go," he said.

Wilt added he's known the couple for more than two years.

"They both were super people," he said.

Witnesses on the ground reported hearing loud bangs just prior to the plane falling from the sky.

"We heard engine problems, then two loud noises, like two backfires," said Eddie Garcia, who works at a nearby business.

"We heard it fly over. We came out," he said. "We saw dust coming off where the plane made an impact, and we also saw pieces falling down like paper."

Garcia said as he and co-workers called 9-1-1 the plane caught fire.

Pomona police Lt. Alex Rilloraza said callers reported the incident as either a plane or a dune buggy crash because of the smoke seen from a rugged area.

The crash site faces west and is only accessible by foot. Bits of the wreckage could be seen in a blackened area of brush and trees several feet above the ground.

There are no houses in the immediate area of the crash.
Source: Insidesocal.com - Link