4 Injured in Crash at Long Beach Airport

A twin-engine plane crashed and skidded off the runway while aborting a landing at Long Beach Airport Saturday, injuring four people and temporarily closing two of the airport’s five runways.

The pilot and three passengers were only slightly injured in the accident, which happened at 1:06 p.m. when the Piper Apache was coming in for a landing behind other aircraft.

Art Morriston, a Federal Aviation Administration duty officer in Hawthorne, said the control tower had ordered the pilot to “go around” because the plane was following too close behind another aircraft.

“He started to climb and it appears the pilot lost control and he went left wing down . . . until he hit the ground,” Morriston said.

Airport officials said the plane, which was heavily damaged, came to a stop in a grassy area but did not catch fire.

Two of the injured, identified as Richard Houston, 37, and his wife, Ella, both of Lakewood, were taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach where they were both in stable condition. Houston was cut on his leg while his wife suffered a possible concussion, a hospital spokesperson said.

The other passengers, Brian E. Beamer, 27, of Garden Grove and James A. Michel, 35, of Huntington Beach, suffered minor injuries and were treated and released at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

It was not immediately known who was piloting the plane during the crash or where the flight originated.

Lonnie Mitchell, an airport spokesperson, said two of the airport’s runways were closed for several hours after the crash.