FAA and NTSB investigating crash scene
A twin-engine plane crashed and burned shortly after take-off 6:30 Tuesday night at the Santa Monica Airport, killing both people on board.
The pilot apparently tried to abort the take-off of the Cessna 340A. The plane crash-landed, skidded 2,000 feet over an embankment and a service road before slamming into a guard rail just east of 23rd Street, said Jill Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Fire Department.
One man and one woman were declared dead at the scene, Barnes said. Their identities were not known at presstime. The charred plane remained on the service road on the west end of the airport, near a residential neighborhood three hours after the crash. It will likely remain there until authorities complete the on-site investigation.
“There was extensive damage to the plane,” Barnes said. “It will be a fairly lengthy investigation.”
It was unclear to authorities whether the plane ever made it off the ground. Barnes said she was unaware of any communication between the pilot and the control tower.
“There is evidence of heavy braking, so we do know that the pilot did realize something was wrong and was trying to come to a stop,” Barnes said.
“There is evidence of heavy braking, so we do know that the pilot did realize something was wrong and was trying to come to a stop.” — JILL BARNES Santa Monica Fire Dept. Spokeswoman
The plane burst into a fireball that could be seen from the popular Typhoon restaurant, which sits near the beginning of the runway and where 30 to 40 people were having dinner at the time, said manager Jack Griffith.
“We could just see flames,” Griffith said.
The fire was quickly extinguished but the airport remained closed Tuesday night as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration headed to the scene to investigate, said Jim Meloon, an FAA operations officer.
The airport sits two miles from Santa Monica State Beach, which is about 12 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.
Two Santa Monica Fire Department engines, five Santa Monica Police cars and the fire department’s aircraft and rescue and crash rigs responded to the scene. — The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 14, 2001. Read the original PDF.