Pilot, Passenger Killed as Plane Crashes Into Building

A pilot and his passenger were killed Thursday when their single-engine plane lost power just after taking off from Oceanside Municipal Airport, crashed into the roof of an industrial building and exploded in flames.

All nine people inside the building at the time of the crash escaped injury.

The victims were identified as Stephen Chamblin, 40, and Stephen Estado, age unknown, both of Honeydew, Calif., 50 miles south of Eureka. Officials said the two men were headed home Thursday after a two-day visit with Chamblin’s parents, Mason and Ruth Chamblin of Escondido, who watched the plane go down.

Initially, firefighters feared the flames would ignite highly explosive airplane fuel and flammable plastics that are stored in the R/C Helicopters International building. But the fire was contained before it reached the materials, and damage was confined largely to the roof and the machine shop, where the plane finally landed after it dropped through the structure’s timber roof.

“I remember hearing the sound of an engine sputtering overhead, and the next thing I knew the plane came blasting through the roof in a ball of fire,” said Tom Weatherby, who was working in the machine shop when the plane went down. “Then my buddy grabbed me and we got the heck out of there.”

Miniature Helicopters

The company manufactures miniature, radio-controlled helicopters used in motion pictures and by hobbyists.

Fire officials estimated damage to the building at $25,000 and said more than $100,000 worth of machinery was destroyed.

The crash occurred just after 11 a.m. when Chamblin took off heading west from the busy commercial airport about five miles east of downtown Oceanside in the San Luis Rey Valley.

“He got airborne and was between 200 and 300 feet elevation when his engine started acting rough,” said airport manager Joe Deggendorf, who was operating a sweeper near the runway when the plane passed overhead. “Suddenly, he tried to make a left turn, which didn’t work because of the low altitude and low engine power. So he stalled and crashed into the building, nose first.”

The impact sheared off the plane’s left wing, which slid down a crevice between the R/C International building and an adjacent print shop. The remainder of the four-seater propeller plane, manufactured by Mooney Aircraft Corp. of Texas, exploded into flames and plummeted through the roof.

Parents Were Witnesses

Oceanside police spokesman Tom Bussey said that Chamblin’s parents, who had dropped the two men off at the airport, witnessed the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.

The airport was closed while firefighters battled the blaze, but flights were allowed to resume by mid-afternoon, Deggendorf said.