2 PILOTS KILLED IN VALLEY CRASH BUSINESS JET SLAMS INTO BACKYARD AFTER TAKEOFF AT VAN NUYS AIRPORT.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW and RACHEL URANGA Staff Writers NORTH HILLS -- Two pilots died Friday in a ball of flames when their corporate jet crashed after taking off from Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. , authorities said. Witnesses watched in horror as the twin-engine Cessna Citation The Cessna Citation is a marketing name used by Cessna for its lines of business jets. Rather than one particular model of aircraft, the name applies to several "families" of turbofan-powered aircraft which have been produced over the years. ``wobbled'' before banking away from homes and plummeting into a grassy lot north of the airport just before 11 a.m. Some saw a baggage door open during takeoff. Others saw a man jump out of the plane just before it crashed. ``The plane was going into a nose dive nose dive Noun 1. (of an aircraft) a sudden plunge with the nose pointing downwards 2. Informal a sudden drop: when we fail our self-confidence takes a nose dive Verb , then a dude jumped out about 40 to 50 feet before it hit the ground,'' said Luke Malbry, 29, of Granada Hills, a Pepsi employee who watched the crash from a friend's garage. ``There was a huge ball of fire right after it happened. He landed right next to it. He knew it was going to happen.'' The names of the pilot and his co-pilot were not released. Officials said the plane was owned by Sun Quest Executive Charter, founded in 1992 by Frank Kratzer. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. its Web site, the company offers ``transport services The collective functions of layers 1 through 4 of the OSI model. for the Hollywood industry.'' Sun Quest officials declined to comment on the crash. 2 pilots at controls During an evening news conference, NTSB NTSB abbr. National Transportation Safety Board senior safety investigator Howard Plagens said two pilots were at the controls of the charter plane en route to Long Beach to pick up two passengers. Air traffic controllers told officials they saw the plane ``wobbling'' shortly after takeoff, Plagens said. The pilots radioed the control tower, asking for permission to return to the airport. They never made it. The fiery wreckage exploded into a resident's backyard in the 8500 block of Hayvenhurst Avenue, knocking down two cinderblock walls and igniting a tree, he said. One resident suffered minor injuries after being struck by a downed power line. ``We are very fortunate it wasn't worse,'' Plagens said. Veteran pilots at Van Nuys Airport who witnessed the short flight described a plane in dire distress. Steve Purwin said the Citation CJ took off ``low and slow,'' with its forward left luggage door open. ``It was auguring to the left and right, rocking back and forth, and looked to me to be on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of a stall,'' said Purwin, 47, of Porter Ranch. ``It was nosing up a little bit, then the wing dropped off to the right and it nosed beyond the trees and crashed.'' Purwin thought maybe an engine had flamed out after sucking in a suitcase, or that a bag had hit the tail and caused control problems. Others thought the pilot may have become distracted by the open bay. The explosion rocked a neighborhood of 1950s ranch-style houses, where a plane landed and struck two school buses in 1999. Black smoke billowed from the plane, witnesses said, followed by a fireball fireball, very bright meteor leaving a trail in the sky that can remain visible for several minutes; often a distinct sound, perhaps caused by very low frequency radio waves, is associated with it. and a mushroomlike cloud that hovered over Hayvenhurst. Firefighters doused the wreckage with foam as the aircraft burned next to a road just north of the airport. After extinguishing the blaze, authorities worried about 3,400 pounds of unaccounted unaccounted Adjective unaccounted for unable to be found or traced: four people were killed in the floods, and eleven remain unaccounted for unaccounted adj jet fuel and evacuated a one-block area between Parthenia Street and Roscoe Boulevard. Sifting wreckage Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies sifted through the blackened black·en v. black·ened, black·en·ing, black·ens v.tr. 1. To make black. 2. To sully or defame: a scandal that blackened the mayor's name. 3. wreckage at the end of Runway 3-4-Left. Plagens said authorities are investigating all possible causes, including witness's reports that the front luggage door of the five-seater was open. ``Our hearts go out to the families of the victims,'' said Assistant Chief Tim Manning of the Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles. . Van Nuys is the busiest general-aviation airport in the nation, with an average of nearly 500,000 takeoffs and landings annually. There have been at least six incidents reported since 2000. ``This thing could have easily crashed into a neighborhood,'' said Gerald Silver, a member of the Van Nuys Airport's Citizen Advisory Council and an outspoken critic of the operation. ``This is a problem when you have an airport in the middle of a bedroom community.'' Lisa Garcia was driving on Napa Street with her 3-year-old son when her Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the was shaken by the blast. ``We heard a really big boom -- I thought it was an earthquake,'' said Garcia, 29, of North Hills. ``Then I saw a tire drop into a yard -- straight down.'' Edward Reynolds was in his backyard near the crash site when he saw the plane come down at an angle, with its wing just above the sidewalk. ``The right wing hit a block wall and tumbled from there,'' Reynolds, 83, told The Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. . ``I got the hell out of there before it hit me.'' Reynolds, who built his home in 1948, said the property where the plane crashed was owned by a brick mason who'd just died. Steve Hofmann Steve Hofmann is a mathematician who helped solve the famous Kato's conjecture. Said Hofmann, “It's a problem that has interested me since I was a graduate student... heard a ``loud crackling sound'' before the plane struck dirt with a blast that shook his fence. ``The engine was spiraling down, so I knew it was a jet,'' said Hofmann, 40, in his yard a block north of the crash. ``I did see an engine that appeared to be loose separate from the crash. ``My immediate impression was that it had come apart upon takeoff.'' ``Terrible, terrible,'' added his wife, Michelle. ``The sound and the darkness. It was almost as if something all of a sudden covered up the sky. ``All I could think about was that there was someone in that plane. It broke my heart.'' dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 Airport accidents Here is a list of incidents reported at city-owned Van Nuys Airport since 2000. Sept. 9, 2006: A helicopter lost engine power and made a hard landing. Jan. 8, 2006: A Piper Seneca veered off the runway and hit a hangar after the pilot lost control during landing. A flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor certificate vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an and one passenger suffered minor injuries. June 2, 2005: A small plane that had mechanical trouble en route from San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. to Orange County crashed in Granada Hills while attempting an emergency landing at Van Nuys. The pilot was killed. Nov. 14, 2003: A disembarking passenger walked into a moving propeller and suffered serious injuries. March 23, 2003: A student pilot was seriously injured when his craft crashed into an airport building during an aborted landing. In 2000, a twin-engine turbo-prop operated by Sun Quest clipped a corporate jet owned by actor Jim Carrey “James Carrey” redirects here. For the murder conspirator, see James Carey. James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian actor and comedian. on approach to Van Nuys. Both landed safely. In addition, the deadliest day at Van Nuys Airport occurred May 17, 1986, when a twin-engine plane carrying six people, including film director Donald Stern, crashed in a cornfield while attempting a landing. About two hours earlier, a single-engine plane crashed on Roscoe Boulevard, killing actor John Gibson John Gibson is a common name, shared by:
Source: FAA; Daily News research CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box, map Photo: (1 -- color) A Los Angeles firefighter looks over the wreckage of a corporate jet Friday that crashed into the backyard of a home in North Hills. (2 -- 3) Firefighters, above and left, are at the scene of the crash of a Cessna Citation corporate jet that exploded in a fireball Friday in the grassy lot of a home in North Hills after taking off moments before from Van Nuys Airport. The two pilots at the controls of the small jet were killed. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News Box: Airport accidents (see text) Map: Small plane crash Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
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