Misses Homes : 3 Die as Light Plane Crashes in El Cerrito

A light plane bound for Corona Municipal Airport crashed and exploded Monday afternoon in the backyard of a western Riverside County home, killing three of the plane’s occupants and critically injuring the fourth.

The plane, a Beechcraft 58 Baron, “crashed and exploded on the approach to Corona,” said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

“When he talked to our facility,” the spokesman said, “(the pilot) said he had lost an engine--he didn’t say why--and soon afterward he . . . crashed and burned.”

The twin-engine aircraft crashed in the yard on Maryland Street, near Ontario Street, in El Cerrito, an unincorporated area four miles southeast of the Corona airport.

Pronounced dead at the scene of the crash were Paul T. Faskas, 47, of Corona, and James Heatley, 27, of Riverside, according to Jim Camp of the county coroner’s office. A third victim, John Cullin, died several hours later at Riverside General Hospital, Camp added. The lone survivor was listed in critical condition.

Origin of Flight Unknown

Investigators did not know Monday night where the flight had originated.

No injuries to area residents or significant damage to their property was reported in the crash and explosion, which brought firefighters from the Riverside County Fire Department to the scene.

“It missed all the homes,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Randall Yankee.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.