Copter Crashes in Fog, Two Killed

A helicopter pilot, unable to find Ontario International Airport because of dense fog, crashed in a nearby vineyard late Friday, killing himself and a male passenger, police said.

The San Bernardino County coroner’s office identified the two victims as Lane William Noren, 36, of West Covina, and Dennis John Weih, 35, of Lakewood.

The men were co-owners of the helicopter and it was not immediately determined who was piloting the craft, police said.

Authorities searched the fog-covered vineyard, a mile south of the airport, until about 2 a.m Saturday before finding the helicopter, which crashed at about 11 p.m. Friday, Ontario police Sgt. Frank Fryer said.

The helicopter left Fullerton Municipal Airport on Friday night for a trip to Long Beach Municipal Airport. But the flyers headed for Ontario after thick fog prevented a landing in Long Beach, Fryer said.

The pilot told Ontario flight controllers that he was having difficulty locating the airport in the dense fog, Fryer said. He also reported that his helicopter was low on fuel.

The National Weather Service said the fog was being generated by a weak upper-level, low-pressure area that moved over Southern California on Saturday. This, combined with an increasing onshore flow of marine air, resulted in fog and cloudy skies over the coastal and valley areas and isolated showers and thundershowers over the mountains and deserts.