Crash Victim Kirk Douglas to Go Home

Actor Kirk Douglas, 72, injured in a collision between a helicopter and a small plane above the Santa Paula Airport last week, will be released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles today or Monday, a hospital spokesman said Saturday.

Helicopter pilot Noel Blanc, who also was injured in the crash, was in serious but stable condition Saturday at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. Blanc, the son of well-known cartoon voice Mel Blanc, underwent surgery Friday to treat his fractured leg.

The hospital does not expect to release Blanc within the next few days, a hospital spokeswoman said. “He’s . . . improving every day,” she said.

The crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday just after the helicopter carrying Douglas and Blanc lifted off from the airport helipad. Instead of heading south over the Santa Clara riverbed--the normal route for helicopters--it apparently flew north over the airport’s only runway and into the path of a Pitts Aerobatic that was taking off.

Lee Manelski, a 46-year-old veteran stunt-flying instructor from Santa Paula and an airline pilot, and passenger 18-year-old David Tomlinson of Thousand Oaks, were killed in the crash.

Douglas suffered head cuts and bruises. He is reportedly progressing well, receiving family visitors and lots of fan mail.

On Friday “the cards and things were just starting to come in,” hospital spokesman Ron Wise said. “On Monday, there will probably be a tidal wave.”

Douglas “continues to express his sorrow at the loss of two lives,” Wise said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, declined to comment on the incident Saturday. After an initial examination, investigators said the crash was caused by the pilots’ failure to “see and avoid” one another.