LOCAL : Flight Instructor, Three Pilots Aboard Fatal Burbank Crash

Four men killed in a fiery plane crash shortly after taking off from Burbank Airport were a flight instructor and three other pilots who were members of a local flying club, authorities said today.

The four victims were on a training run from Burbank Airport to Santa Barbara when the plane crashed at 8:14 p.m., Thursday, said Gary Mucho, regional director of the National Transportation Safety Board. (Story, B1)

Though the men have been tentatively identified, their names were not released by the coroner’s office pending confirmation through dental records.

Mucho said the single-engine Piper Cherokee was privately owned and leased to the Burbank-based Pilots Co-op Flying Club. At least three of the men were members of the club, he said. It was unclear if the instructor was a member.

Dan Tompkins, manager of the flying club, confirmed that the plane was one of six used by the club’s 100 members, but he said he could not release the names of members who were using the craft Thursday night.

The plane took off at 8:13 p.m. but immediately an unknown problem developed. The plane crashed on Lockheed Corp. property adjacent to the airport and burst into flames.