Plane Crashes Short of Pacoima Runway; 2 Die

A single-engine airplane apparently ran out of gasoline and crashed about 200 yards short of the Whiteman Airport runway in Pacoima, killing both people aboard.

The crash occurred at 1:25 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said that the blue, white and gold, four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza hovered low over a residential neighborhood before flying head-on into a fruit juice storage tank.

The victims, a woman and a man, were not immediately identified, but were believed to have been in their 40s, said Assistant Los Angeles Fire Chief James J. Mullen.

The woman was thrown from the plane upon impact and pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The man, believed to be the pilot, was pulled from the uprighted plane by paramedics and taken to Pacifica Hospital in Sun Valley, where he died Saturday afternoon, Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Pat Marek said.

The pilot was attempting to land at Whiteman, one of the busiest airports in Los Angeles for small aircraft, Mullen said. It was not known where the flight originated, although airport officials said it was based at Whiteman.

There was no gasoline on the ground after the crash, leading authorities to believe the plane had run out of gas, Mullen said.

Michael Dimente, a flight instructor at the airport, said he saw the plane as it came down.

“It was flying low and slow, and the propeller was windmilling very slowly,” he said. “The flaps were also up, which is a sign that the plane is in trouble as it’s landing.”

Bill Vila, a grocery clerk who lives across the street from the storage tank, said he heard the crash. “It was like this loud bang,” he said. “I’m always afraid something like this could happen. We’re right under the flight path. It could have crashed into our house.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were called to investigate.