OVERLOAD LINKED TO CRASH; CONTROL FAILURE ONE POSSIBILITY.Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer The controls of a twin-engine plane that crashed Sunday in a Saugus neighborhood, killing the two people aboard might have been overloaded, causing the pilot to lose control, a National Transportation and Safety Board investigator said Monday. ``It's just like making an abrupt turn in a car with the steering wheel,'' said George Peterson, an air safety investigator with the NTSB NTSB abbr. National Transportation Safety Board . ``You'll lose control and roll over. These planes are built very light. Things can change quickly.'' The crash investigation, however, could take up to six months, when an official conclusion regarding the cause will be available, Peterson said. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Coroner's Office also had not completed its investigation and could not confirm the passengers' identities Monday afternoon. The Cessna 310 airplane plane was registered to Charles C. Gray of Temple Bar, Ariz., 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. a Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control database. Peterson acknowledged witness reports that the plane lost its tail before hitting a power line near the area of Alaminos Drive and Featherstar Avenue in Saugus and crashing into the ground about 6:25 p.m. Sunday. ``Witnesses said it descended out of the clouds at a high rate of speed at a steep angle,'' Peterson said. ``Then it levels out a little and the tail fell off.'' It is not unusual for a plane to lose parts if it is overloaded with control inputs, Peterson said. Those excessive inputs could cause a pilot to lose control of the aircraft, he said. On Monday, about a dozen residents of the quiet neighborhood, bisected by an open field where the electrical lines run, still were intrigued by the wreckage site and the excitement surrounding the crash. ``It kind of sounded like someone dragging something across cement,'' said Paul Kelly, 39, who lives on Ridgegrove Drive, about a block from the crash. ``It was really loud. You could hear it sputtering A popular method for adhering thin films onto a substrate. Sputtering is done by bombarding a target material with a charged gas (typically argon) which releases atoms in the target that coats the nearby substrate. It all takes place inside a magnetron vacuum chamber under low pressure. .'' On Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , residents from blocks away ran to the scene to watch, Kelly said. Some people even carried away pieces of the wreckage before authorities closed off the area, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Bill Zazueta. The wreckage remained scattered under the power lines Monday while the investigators from the NTSB and FAA examined the scene. The airplane seats sat at the top of the heap while scraps of metal lay scattered around. The pieces were expected to be hauled off late Monday so the plane could be reconstructed at a site in Compton, officials said. The pilot, traveling from Gen. William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster to Van Nuys, lost radio and radar contact about 6:15 p.m. with air services being provided from San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , Peterson said. The plane barely missed hitting homes and clipped power lines, which sparked a small fire. The pull on the lines caused damage to three 200-foot electrical towers, even toppling a piece the size of a car from one structure. The crash did not cause a power outage Noun 1. power outage - equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails; "the ice storm caused a power outage" power failure equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown" because the lines are used to carry bulk electricity from the Pacific Northwest, officials said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Crash investigators Mike Grimes Grimes is a surname, that is believed to be of a Scandinavian decent and may refer to
(2--Color) (Ran in SAC Edition only) National Transportation and Safety Board investigator George Peterson examines a piece of wreckage Monday in Saugus. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion