2 DIE AS PLANE HITS APARTMENTS CRASH INCINERATES FAIRFAX-AREA BUILDING, INJURES 7.

Byline: Ryan Oliver and Michael Gougis Staff Writers

Two people were killed and seven others were injured Friday when a single-engine plane nose-dived into an apartment building in the Fairfax District, engulfing it in flames.

The Bonanza BE-36 had taken off about 10 minutes earlier from Santa Monica Airport and zoomed over Fairfax High School, where about 100 athletes were practicing on the field, before plummeting into the roof of the three-story building.

``I was asleep and I heard a boom and my window caved in on top of me,'' said Jeff Harris, 33, who lives in the apartment building next door. ``I opened the door and looked out and it was just a wall of orange. One of the tenants from the building ran by me. He was burned all over his face, his hair.

``Everything was in flames.''

A number of Fairfax High students said the plane struck so close, they feared it was going to crash on campus.

``I looked up and I heard a whistling sound and I saw that plane crash into the building,'' said 15-year-old student Tania Fergusen. ``We were all just standing there. I was in shock more than anything.''

The body of a building occupant was found under burning debris in a top- floor unit, officials said. The other body was found in the wreckage of the plane, which sliced through the two floors of apartment units and ended up in the ground-floor parking garage.

Seven other people were injured, three critically. The most seriously injured victim, a 25-year-old man who suffered burns over 35 percent of his body, was later transferred to Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital.

The remaining victims were hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, antiterrorism division and the Los Angeles Fire Department's hazardous materials team scoured the scene. While all indicators were pointing to an accident, McDonnell said it was too early to tell whether the crash at the Sharon Apartments, 601 Spaulding St., was intentional or accidental.

``We are treating this as a crime scene,'' McDonnell said. ``But it's just too early to tell what the story is here.''

McDonnell added late Friday that the LAPD has turned over the investigation to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Mae Zipperstein, who owns the building with her accountant husband, Edward, was in shock.

``I'm shaking,'' she said in a phone interview. ``We worked so hard to get that building,'' which is named for the couple's daughter.

``My poor husband is watching it burn on television.''

At least 130 firefighters, eight ambulances and dozens of police officers rushed to the building, located in a heavily Jewish area near West Hollywood. As firefighters battled the fierce flames, emergency crews set up a medical triage area across the street.

``The crash ignited fires on all three levels of the complex,'' said Los Angeles Fire Chief Bill Bamattre. ``Some of the residents were jumping from upper stories to get to safety.''

Firefighters continued to search the building late Friday, looking for additional victims. Officials with the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived late Friday to begin their investigation.

Don Walker of the Federal Aviation Administration told reporters that the single-engine, V-tail Bonanza BE-36 left Santa Monica Airport - about eight miles away - at 3:45 p.m. The Bonanza pilot did not file a flight plan and was operating on visual flight rules, he said.

Walker said the plane seats four people, but there was no immediate way to know whether anyone other than the pilot was aboard.

John Martin, an airbrush-painter on Melrose Avenue, said he heard the crash, grabbed his camera and ran to the building.

``When I got there, there was an old gentleman with a garden hose trying to put the fire out. It was obvious he wasn't going to get it out,'' he said.

Martin said he then saw a heavyset man jump out a window and land flat on his back.

Jay Gordon, 29, a computer programmer, was home sick Friday afternoon when he heard what he thought was a plane or a helicopter crash at the end of his block. He ran down the street to help.

``The top floor of the building was on fire and black smoke was pouring out,'' he said. ``I didn't want to see anyone come out on fire.''

Staff Writers Lisa Sodders and Jason Kandel contributed to this report.

Ryan Oliver, [phone]

ryan.oliver(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 maps

Photo:

(1 -- color) The propeller of the Bonanza BE-36 that slammed into a Fairfax District apartment house landed in the building's ground-floor parking garage.

(2) Firefighters try to get to a blazing apartment building as dense smoke pours out after the structure was hit by a small plane.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

(3) Rescue personnel wheel an injured man to an ambulance at the scene of Friday's Fairfax District plane crash.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Map:

(1 -- 2) SMALL PLANE CRASH