2 on Plane and 2 on Sofa Survive Crash

An elderly couple were watching “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Thursday when a small plane crashed into their Carson home, its nose coming to rest in the utility room right next to a stack of paper towels.

“We didn’t know what it was. We thought a bomb had hit,” said 67-year-old Julius Hermes, who, with his wife, Irene, has lived in the home on East 189th Street for more than 25 years. “All of a sudden there was just a great big explosion.”

The pilot of the single-engine plane, Larry Rhyne, 47, of Torrance, was on his way from Catalina Island to Compton with his 12-year-old daughter, Judy, when, for unknown reasons, the aircraft lost power about 3 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Minor Injuries

Rhyne and his daughter were taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with minor injuries. The Hermes were not injured.

“It looked like he was trying to land, but he was going so fast and he just kept going,” said Cecilia Aragon, 23, who witnessed the crash from across the street.

“We’re just darn lucky it missed us,” Julius Hermes said as he sat on the curb in front of his house. “It was about as far from us as that fire engine.” The fire engine was about 20 feet away.