3 VICTIMS OF DOUBLE PLANE CRASH IDENTIFIED.Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer Two men and a woman killed in a plane crash off the Malibu coast were identified Monday, as investigators began the painstaking process of sifting through the wreckage. John Rossato, 48, of Malibu was flying a rented Citabria 7ECA ECA See: Export Credit Agency single- engine plane that took off from Santa Paula Airport Santa Paula Airport (IATA: SZP, ICAO: KSZP, FAA LID: SZP) is a privately-owned public-use airport located one mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Santa Paula, a city in Ventura County, California, USA. about 30 minutes before the 5:30 p.m. crash Sunday, officials said. John Zasadny, 57, a podiatrist Podiatrist A physician who specializes in the medical care and treatment of the human foot. Mentioned in: Shin Splints podiatrist who lived in Malibu and practiced in Torrance, and Jenifer Williamson, 37, of Torrance were aboard the experimental Thorp T-18 single-engine plane that collided with Rossato's aircraft off El Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. State Beach. The Thorp, which took off from Torrance, was registered to Zasadny. Rosane Azettat was on the crowded beach when the planes came from the east and collided overhead, sending families and children running for cover. ``It was right over our heads,'' she said. ``The shrapnel shrapnel Originally, a type of projectile invented by the British artillery officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), containing small spherical bullets and an explosive charge to scatter the shot and fragments of the shell casing. was falling from the sky.'' Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said it was unclear what caused the planes to collide. The investigation, which will include reviewing air-traffic control air-traffic control air n → Flugsicherung f tapes and radar data, likely will take weeks or months to complete, NTSB NTSB abbr. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said. ``Anytime you're dealing with water and more than one aircraft, it makes it much more difficult,'' he said. Rossato, a contractor who emigrated from Argentina when he was 20, got his pilot's license about 15 years ago and began practicing aerobatic flying about four years ago, said his daughter, Micaela Rossato. ``He was obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with flying since he was 6 years old,'' she said. ``He loved to fly. He wasn't afraid of anything. When he walked onto the airport, he became a different person.'' Firefighters used a helicopter Monday afternoon to hoist Rossato's plane from the beach to the bluff, and then used air bags to float Zasadny's plane from the ocean floor, where it came to rest after the crash in 15 feet of water. Rossato had been renting planes at Santa Paula Airport for at least six years, said Judy Phelps, owner of CP Aviation, the owner of the Citabria. She spoke with Rossato briefly before he took off at 5 p.m. Sunday, about 30 minutes before the fatal crash. ``He got in his airplane and went on his merry way,'' she said. ``That was the last we saw of him. This is a tragedy.'' Andrea Cavanaugh, (805) 583-7602 andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) At Zuma Beach on Monday, officials examine the experimental Thorp T-18 that was involved in a midair collision Sunday afternoon. Three people died in the crash. (2) The wreckage of an experimental Thorp T-18 plane is sifted through by NTSB investigators Monday on Zuma Beach. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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