Pilot Faces Murder Trial in Plane Crash That Killed 2

An Encino pilot whose small plane crashed into the ocean off Malibu, killing his two passengers, was ordered Friday to stand trial on murder charges.

Municipal Judge Karl Jaeger ordered Roger Amiran, 24, of Encino, to stand trial on two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of John Terrance Harris of Northridge and Matthew Fry of Canoga Park, both 22.

The two men drowned after Amiran’s rented four-seat Piper Cherokee Warrior crashed into the ocean April 9, 1987, about 500 yards offshore when Amiran, who had been drinking, dipped the plane’s wing in the water.

Amiran and a third passenger, Laurie Ann Thuer of Simi Valley, were pulled from the water by a Coast Guard helicopter.

Jaeger ordered Amiran to appear Thursday for arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court. The judge denied a motion by Amiran’s attorney, Howard L. Weitzman, to reduce the charge to involuntary manslaughter.

“I don’t believe that Mr. Amiran at any time intended anyone to die . . . ,” Weitzman said. “There was no intent to cause the accident, or the results of the accident.”

However, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lonnie A. Felker argued that Amiran’s actions “were absolutely lacking in any regard for his own life or the lives of his passengers.”

Saying that Amiran’s actions were suicidal, Felker said: “If you want to commit suicide, that’s one thing. But when you take other people with you, that’s a crime.”

During a preliminary hearing last month, Thuer testified that Amiran drank a beer shortly before taking off from Van Nuys Airport.

Thuer said the last thing she remembered before the plane hit the ocean was Amiran saying, “Look, water on the wing tip. Look. We’re so close we can get water on the wing tip.”

Seconds later, she said, the plane dipped, hit the ocean twice, then crashed and filled with water.

The force ripped the wing from the plane, Felker said.

A test taken a few hours after the incident showed Amiran’s blood-alcohol level as 0.02%, and prosecutors allege his blood-alcohol level at the time the plane went down would have been between 0.04% and 0.06%. The Federal Aviation Administration considers a pilot to be drunk at 0.04%.

At the time of the crash, authorities said, Amiran was a new pilot and had accumulated 100 hours of flight time. Amiran lost his license as a result of the accident, Felker said.

Amiran, who is free on $5,000 bail, originally faced an additional charge of flying under the influence of alcohol, but the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office lost the vial containing Amiran’s blood. Felker said.

If convicted of second-degree murder, Amiran could be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.