Pilot Killed, Passenger Hurt as Small Plane Crash-Lands

A single-engine civilian plane owned by the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station’s recreational flying club crash-landed Thursday on a remote hill in eastern Orange County, killing the pilot and injuring his passenger--a flight instructor.

The pilot, identified as Calvin Johnson, 61, of Irvine, died shortly after he was airlifted to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, authorities said.

The passenger, identified as flight instructor Tim Fredrich, 29, of Orange, was in critical but stable condition at the hospital, where he was undergoing surgery for back injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.

It was not immediately known what caused the crash of the single-engine Piper PA-28 Arrow at 1:20 p.m. south of the Riverside Freeway near Anaheim Hills.

Family members and a colleague said both men were experienced pilots and civilian members of the base’s flying group, known as the Aero Club.

A woman at the hospital who identified herself as Johnson’s daughter said he had been flying for a decade and that “he’s very careful, always has been.”

Fredrich is a flight instructor who teaches relatives of military people and retired servicemen, said his mother, Marcheta Fredrich.

Sgt. Deborah Bragagnini, a Marine Corps spokeswoman, said the aircraft took off from the El Toro base on a routine training flight bound for Chino. The pilot was being “checked out” or observed for certification to fly the four-seater aircraft solo, said Bragagnini and Constance Blinten, another pilot with the flying group.

However, part of the way through their flight, the men sent a Mayday signal and radioed the El Toro base air control tower that they were about 3 miles east of Irvine Lake, said Marine Sgt. Steve Short.

Search and rescue helicopters from the Marine Corps and Orange County Sheriff’s Department located the victims shortly after the crash. There was no fire.

Both men were taken by military helicopter to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

The plane came to rest, nearly intact, on a clear incline in the hilly terrain north of Irvine Park. One propeller blade was bent underneath the engine.

Officials said it appeared that the engine had failed before it crashed and that the pilot and flight instructor were aware of a problem.

Marine Corps and county firefighters were transported to the crash site along a 4-mile dirt road outside of Irvine Park near Santiago Canyon Road and Chapman Avenue.

Short said a Marine Crash, Fire and Rescue Team would spend the night at the crash site, guarding it until investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration arrive.

The Aero Club is a chartered club at the base, Bragagnini said. “It is a recreational activity similar to the bowling alley, craft shops and auto hobby shops,” she said.

Members of the club must be active or retired military personnel, relatives of military personnel, or with the Civil Air Patrol, Bragagnini said.

Aero Club member William Cleminshaw said the club is stringent about its aircraft meeting mechanical safety requirements.

“There have been some planes in there (that) people try to put on lease that don’t meet (base) safety standards, and they say to get them off the base,” Cleminshaw said.

Times staff writers Jean Davidson and Laura Kurtzman contributed to this article.