Resident of home able to escape before plane crashes
MAR VISTA — A single-engine plane based in Santa Monica crashed into a two-story house here Tuesday, killing the pilot and one passenger.
Authorities said they were investigating whether encroaching coastal fog may have played a part in the 5 p.m. accident, which took place just blocks from the airport. The plane was headed to Santa Monica from Mammoth, Calif.
The identity of the victims, who were traveling in a four-seat, Mooney Mark 20 plane, was unknown at presstime. Officials from the coroner’s office were waiting to release that information until they notified the next of kin.
There were no reported injuries on the ground. Neighbors said Pat and Jim Whiting live in the house at 3318 Mountain View Ave., adding Jim Whiting, a college professor, was home when the plane came crashing into the kitchen.
“There wasn’t even any fire when I came outside,” said Richard Axelrod, who lives two doors down from the Whitings. “After the explosion, it was like, ‘Bang,’ and I ran outside. I saw a huge ball of flames, a huge explosion... I couldn’t believe it. It was like it was Axelrod, 44, who’s lived in Mar Vista more than 13 years, said he heard the crash and immediately ran over to help Jim Whiting, who was in shock. He said he kicked in the Whitings’ gate and helped get their dogs to safety.
Santa Monica Airport officials said the pilot never made contact with them.
“The aircraft was on instrument approach,” said Santa Monica Airport Manager Bob Trimborn, adding the pilot was in radio contact with Federal Aviation Administration tower control and was about to be handed off to the Santa Monica tower when he crashed. “Our control tower never made contact with the aircraft.”
“Our control tower never made contact with the aircraft.” — surreal. It was like it was on TV — this doesn’t happen in your neighborhood.” — BOB TRIMBORN Santa Monica Airport Manager
The area surrounding the airport is mostly high-dense neighborhoods. There is a park on the east side of the airport, just a block from where the plane went down, and a small nine-hole golf course to the west. The pilot crashed into a knoll just southeast of the airport in Mar Vista, which isn’t part of the normal flight path, Trimborn said.
“It’s an odd place to be,” Trimborn said, adding that Santa Monica Airport operates under what is called a “circle to land approach.” Pilots are instructed to descend at small intervals of altitude until they reach 600 feet, when they would normally see the airport. If pilots don’t have visual contact of the runway, they turn to the south and report to the control tower that they are on a missed approach.
Because the pilot was based at the airport, it’s assumed he was familiar with the procedure and could have been executing that approach, and didn’t have time to radio the Santa Monica tower. Witnesses said they heard the plane circle overhead twice before it crashed through the roof of the house.
Six agencies responded to the fatal accident, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Transportation and Safety Board, the Santa Monica Police Department and the FAA, said LAFD Battalion Chief Mike Little, adding seven fire engines responded to the scene and firemen were able to douse the fire in 22 minutes.
Wayne Pollack, an air safety investigator from the NTSB, said crews would begin extracting the wreckage this morning. The plane’s wings and tails separated from the cockpit, which was found in the kitchen of the house, added Pollack, who said officials have requested radar data from the FAA to assist in their investigation.
Dozens of area residents were at the scene late into the evening Tuesday, standing behind police tape more than a block from the accident, trying to get information.
“I smelled smoke in my garage and thought it was my neighbor’s fireplace — until I turned on the television and it was breaking news,” said Jean Coburn, a 33-year-old dental hygienist who grew up in the area. “Pretty scary.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.