Pilot in Crash Was Retired Lockheed Executive
The pilot killed Tuesday when his small plane crashed at Whiteman Air Park in Pacoima was identified Wednesday as Samuel D. Wright, 62, of Burbank, a retired Lockheed executive and frequent flying companion of Barron Hilton of the Hilton Hotels.
Friends, who knew Wright exclusively by his middle name, Dale, said he was on his way to meet Hilton’s personal pilot in Lancaster when his single-engine Cessna Turbo 210 apparently lost power soon after taking off and crashed into a large warehouse, setting it afire.
Safety investigators were expecting to examine the wreckage today to determine the cause of the crash.
Fellow pilots, including Hilton, described Wright as a lifelong flying enthusiast and an excellent pilot.
During a 42-year career at Lockheed, Wright was Latin American director of sales for the Lockheed California Co.’s L-1011 TriStar and director of the company’s aircraft technical services, company spokesman Bill Spanio said.
Started Own Business
In 1982, Wright transferred to Lockheed Financial Services, Spanio said.
After retiring in 1984, Wright started an aircraft brokerage business in his home, said Nancy Rushing, a Lockheed customer relations representative who said she was Wright’s fiancee.
“His life was flying,” Rushing said. “He loved flying and soaring more than anything.”
On the day he crashed, Rushing said, Wright intended to pick up Hilton’s pilot, Hugh Williams, and fly him to Santa Paula. Williams had flown a vintage airplane for Hilton from Santa Paula to Lancaster and needed a ride back to his car, she said.
Hilton, the son of the late hotel-chain founder Conrad Hilton and now chairman and chief executive officer of Hilton Hotels Corp., said Wednesday that Wright has been his close personal friend since the two met during a business transaction more than 30 years ago.
Hilton said he and Wright often went on flying trips together, particularly excursions to Hilton’s ranch in Nevada “to soar,” glide on currents.
‘All-Around Sportsman’
“We’ve done a lot of soaring together and flying and hunting and fishing,” Hilton said. “He was an all-around sportsman and a great human being.”
‘Professional, Perfectionist’
Airport Manager John Lounsbery said pilots at Whiteman Air Park described Wright as a “professional, perfectionist kind of a guy.”
Rushing said Wright leaves two sisters and a brother and two daughters by his former wife.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, Jan. 22, at 11:30 a.m. in the Wee Kirk O’ the Heather Church, Forest Lawn, Glendale, she said.
