Pilot Killed as Plane Crashes Into Warehouse, Touches Off Fire

A single-engine airplane apparently lost power soon after taking off from Whiteman Air Park in Pacoima early Tuesday morning and crashed into the roof of a warehouse, killing the pilot and touching off a fire that caused nearly $1 million in damage, authorities said.

The coroner’s office by late Tuesday had not identified the body of the pilot, which was burned beyond recognition, a spokesman said. No other injuries were reported.

The engine of the Cessna Turbo 210 apparently failed shortly after 7 a.m. at an altitude of 200 to 300 feet as the light plane neared the northern end of the runway, said Vincent F. Brophy, a Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector. The pilot, he added, apparently was attempting to turn back toward the runway without power when the aircraft hit the building.

The plane plunged through the roof of the warehouse used by Vern Gibson & Associates on the northern end of the airport property at 13020 Pierce St. The company, which moved into the 50,000-square-foot corrugated metal building a month ago, stores equipment for recreational vehicles, including air conditioners, heaters and awnings.

The plane was registered to a Burbank man and was kept at at Whiteman, said Jeff Rich, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. Rich said it will be several months before the exact cause of the crash is known.

The pilot was en route to Lancaster and had filed a flight plan with the Burbank air traffic control tower, Brophy said.

“Burbank tower was tracking the plane when it disappeared from radar,” he said.

Whiteman, a Los Angeles County-owned airport, does not have a control tower.

Witnesses reported hearing engine trouble after the aircraft took off.

“It sputtered three or four times, and it looked like he was turning to get back to the runway. For a moment, I thought he would clear the roof,” said Cliff Johann, a truck driver who was working nearby.

Instead, Johann said, “it hit the building pretty hard.”

Airport Manager John Lounsbery and several airport employees sped to the building in a truck moments after the crash.

“When we got there, it had just started to smoke,” Lounsbery said. “The aircraft was perched at about a 45-degree angle with its nose through the roof.”

Ken Abrams, a county airport maintenance worker, said he climbed onto the roof and attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.

“But the plane was burning pretty good. Everything from the cabin forward was on fire. I knew I didn’t stand a chance with my little (extinguisher) bottle,” Abrams said.

Shortly thereafter, “the roof melted away and plane fell inside,” Abrams said, adding, “I wish I could have done more.”

The motor and propeller of the aircraft were torn loose and landed outside the building.

Don Anthony, Los Angeles Fire Department chief of operations, who surveyed the crash site from a helicopter, said, “There was a four-foot section of the wing visible on the roof adjacent to the hole where the plane crashed through.”

When the Fire Department arrived, the eastern corner of the warehouse was engulfed in flames, sending a large column of black smoke over the northeast San Fernando Valley. It took nearly an hour to extinguish the flames, fire officials said.

Damage Estimated

Fire officials estimated $200,000 in damage to the building and $750,000 to the contents.

Warehouse owner Vern Gibson said he was driving to work when he saw the smoke.

“I just knew it was my building,” he said.

The 30 employees of the warehouse had not yet arrived for work when the crash occurred, Gibson said. His brother, Garth Gibson, was pulling into the parking lot when the fire erupted.

“I saw the top of the building on fire but didn’t know it was a plane until I came around and saw the engine on the ground,” Garth Gibson said. “Thank God no one was in there yet.”