Tue, Apr 15, 2008
Four Injured When C-310 Impacted Neighborhood In East LA
Investigators have determined a Cessna 310Q that impacted three
homes in Compton, CA on Saturday lost power as it approached to
land at a nearby airport.
As ANN reported Monday, two
persons onboard the aircraft (type shown above) and two others on
the ground were critically injured when the plane came down in a
neighborhood in the 500 block of West Cyprus Street. All four are
expected to survive; a fifth person was hospitalized briefly, after
reporting chest pains at the scene.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the aircraft -- which was
returning from Montgomery Field in San Diego to Hawthorne Airport
-- was attempting to make an emergency landing at Compton Airport
when the accident occurred.
Wayne Pollack, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety
Board, said Monday afternoon the aircraft lost power on approach
and was in "uncontrolled flight" when it came down. Statements from
the scene indicate one of the aircraft's two engines was still
operating, however, with Pollack noting one witness told
investigators they heard "the engine rev up just before the loss of
power."
Photos show the aircraft came to rest in a nose-down attitude,
with the nose crushed but the fuselage largely intact aft of the
forward bulkhead. The aircraft's right wing separated when it
struck the first home, "and it actually catapulted over the second
residence and into the third residence," Pollack said. "During that
maneuver, it happened to end up nose down."
Investigators noted the propeller on the stricken engine was
still turning at time of impact, though at this stage it is not
known whether the engine was producing power, or if the prop was
windmilling.
Local officials identified the pilot as 71-year-old Charles
Reese, "a commercially-rated instrument pilot" according to
Pollack.
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