3 From Valley Aboard Lost Hawaii Plane

Three Sherman Oaks residents have been identified as being among eight passengers on a commuter plane missing off the Hawaiian Islands.

A continuing aerial and sea search failed Friday to uncover clues to the fate of Panorama Air Tours Flight 21, which disappeared Wednesday evening near the island of Molokai, 50 miles southeast of Honolulu.

“We didn’t find a trace of anything,” said Coast Guard spokesman Mark Griggs.

The Piper Chieftain twin-engine airplane disappeared from Honolulu Airport radar when it was 3 1/2 miles off the west coast of Molokai. It was bound for Molokai Airport on a 22-minute flight.

Panorama President Paul Risher identified the Sherman Oaks residents as Adrianne Kramer, David Crohn and Crohn’s son, Michael. Kramer, who had been traveling to Molokai for a vacation, operates a travel agency in Sherman Oaks.

Also on board, Risher said, were Kramer’s ex-husband, Land Kramer, and Patricia Parker, both of Hartford, Conn., as well as two passengers from Italy whose names were being withheld pending notification of relatives.

A Coast Guard plane and helicopter, two Air Force observation planes and four Civil Air Patrol airplanes took part in Friday’s search, according to Petty Officer Mason Cornish of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center.

The search was suspended at nightfall and will continue this morning, with the Coast Guard scanning the water and the Civil Air Patrol searching the rugged coast of Molokai in case the airplane made it to land.

“The reason we’ve got so many aircraft out is the possibility that he (pilot Steve Baayoun) turned and went inland,” Cornish said. “What we’re trying to do is saturate the area and make sure we get thorough coverage.”

Baayoun, 27, joined Panorama Air six months ago, said the airline’s chief pilot, John Callahan.

Panorama Air planes have been involved in three fatal crashes that killed 19 people since the inter-island carrier began service in March, 1971.

It also has had a number of non-fatal mishaps. The latest occurred Nov. 21, when another Panorama Air Piper Chieftain crash-landed in a Honolulu park after one of its engines failed, injuring one person.

Risher said the company’s planes are subjected to routine inspection and he said Baayoun was well trained.