2 KILLED IN SAUGUS PLANE CRASH; TWIN-ENGINE CRAFT HITS POWER LINES, BURNS UP.

Byline: Mary Schubert and Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writers

Two people were killed Sunday when their twin-engine plane crashed into a Saugus neighborhood, narrowly missing homes before it clipped power lines and burned up in a field, officials and witnesses said.

The Cessna 310 was likely traveling from Lancaster to Van Nuys when it crashed at 6:25 p.m., according to investigators. No one on the ground was injured.

``I have bits and pieces of a plane in my yard,'' said Saugus resident Jan Wood, who said she saw a flash of white light as the plane crashed into the power lines in the field 50 feet behind her home.

Tim Koontz said he heard the plane's engine revving as it went over his house.

``It sounded like the engine was running really high, like they were trying to gain altitude,'' Koontz said.

``A little bit lower and the plane would have smashed into a bunch of houses on our street,'' Koontz said. ``If he cleared the power lines he would have hit the houses on Urbandale (Avenue). He must have been trying to maneuver away from houses.''

Neighbors said the plane apparently clipped a 200-foot electrical tower as it fell to the ground, setting off a small fire near the crash site at Alaminos Drive and Featherstar Avenue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The crash scene is northwest of Bouquet Canyon Road and Haskell Canyon Road.

The names of the deceased pilot and passenger on the low-wing airplane weren't available late Sunday. ``We believe it was en route to Van Nuys, and it reportedly departed Gen. William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster,'' said FAA operations officer Jerry Johnston.

The pilot had been in contact with an FAA radar facility in San Diego during the flight, a routine procedure, Johnston said.

Saugus resident Jeanine Jones said she heard ``three huge booms'' when the plane crashed. ``It sounded like it was a nuclear bomb,'' she said. ``We're were all like, whoa, this is insane.''

Southern California Edison customers didn't lose power, according to Steve Hansen, a spokesman for the utility. ``What it hit was a transmission tower that carries power in bulk quantities,'' Hansen said. The tower carries electricity from the Pacific Northwest and is under the control of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, he added.