3 Hurt, 2 Critically, as Amphibian Plane Catches Fire, Falls Into Sea

A pilot and one passenger were critically burned and a second passenger suffered minor injuries when their twin-engine amphibian airplane caught fire in the air and crashed at sea about eight miles off Ventura Sunday.

Coast Guard Lt. John Ochs said three men identified as pilot John Schaum, 43, and passengers Douglas Harlow, 22, and Ken Keiding, 27, all of Santa Barbara, were pulled from the sea by the crew of a fishing boat that was in the area of the crash site near Anacapa Island.

Ochs said the boat and an airplane that was also in the vicinity both radioed for help, and the crash victims were transferred to a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s patrol boat, which took them ashore.

All three received initial treatment at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, after which Schaum and Harlow were taken by helicopter to the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, where authorities said both were in critical condition.

Cause of the crash was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Federal authorities said the airplane, which sank after the crash landing, was a vintage Grumman Widgeon, used for sightseeing flights from an airport in the Santa Barbara area.