Sat, Jun 07, 2003
Feds Investigating
Two people are confirmed dead and at least ten people injured -
five of them critically - after a small aircraft crashed into a Los
Angeles apartment complex Friday afternoon.
The Beech Bonanza BE-35 had taken off only seven minutes earlier
from the Santa Monica Airport. Officials say there appeared to have
been no problems when they ordered the pilot to switch frequencies
and contact TRACON. The pilot never showed up on the specified
TRACON freq.
"Sounded Like Aerobatics"
"I looked up and saw the plane just do a nosedive," Aaron Hooker
told KABC-TV. He lives in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles,
where the crash occurred. "It didn't seem real."
News cameraman Adam Krolfifer, who works at the Fox affiliate in
High Point (NC) was in line waiting to see a taping of "The Late
Late Show with Craig Kilborn" when he heard an aircraft.
"We were waiting at CBS Studios. I heard a plane, like he was
doing acrobatic moves. About four minutes later, we saw a huge
plume of black smoke," said Krolfifer, who works for WGHP and was
in Los Angeles on vacation. "It sounded like it was making
maneuvers, the engine getting stressed out," he told KABC.
FBI Called In: "No Terrorism"
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
were called to the crash site as rescue workers set up make-shift
triage centers all around the predominantly Jewish
neighborhood.
"There is no indication that it is an act of terrorism," said
FBI spokeswoman Cheryl Mimura from the scene. "We have agents out
there. It is a routine response because we don't know at this point
why the plane crashed into the building. However, we can't
completely rule it out," she said. "The FBI will investigate to
determine the cause of the crash."
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