Boy Killed, Two Injured in Plane Crash on Catalina
A teen-age boy was killed and has father and another man were seriously injured when a small plane crashed into a hillside on Santa Catalina Island on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old passenger, Robert David Harder Jr., died at the scene near the Catalina Marine Institute, a summer youth camp west of Avalon. Another passenger, Jonathan Benzing, 33, was in serious condition with multiple injuries at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.
The pilot, Robert David Harder Sr., 38, was being treated for head injuries at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Witnesses told authorities the single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk passed low over buildings at the institute, which was crowded with young campers, said Catalina Fire Department Capt. Bodie Hawryluk.
“The plane cleared the buildings and was trying to turn when it ran out of airspace,” Hawryluk said. “It just banked right into a hill.”
The cause of the crash was under investigation.
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