3 Still in Critical Condition After Plane Crash

The pilot and two passengers aboard a single-engine plane that crashed and burst into flames at Van Nuys Airport were hospitalized in critical condition Saturday at the Sherman Oaks Burn Center.

Two other passengers remained in the hospital with less serious injuries. Another passenger was recovering at home.

Los Angeles Fire Department officials said the plane, a six-seat Piper Cherokee Lance PA-32, skidded off the runway and crashed through a chain-link fence about 6:15 p.m. Friday while attempting to take off.

The six aboard, most of whom were co-workers at a Los Angeles bank, were bound for Las Vegas where they were to have attended a friend’s wedding, relatives said. They managed to scramble out of the plane only moments before it exploded in flames, witnesses said.

The most seriously injured, Terry Alvarado, 26, of Pasadena, had third-degree burns on 56% of her body, said hospital spokeswoman Johna Rogovin. Doctors performed emergency surgery on Alvarado twice during the night.

Gregory Kane, 20, of Woodland Hills, the pilot, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 40% of his body, while Tracey Morse, 31, of Westlake Village had third-degree burns on 35% of her body, including her arms, legs and face, Rogovin said.

A Canyon Country couple, George Hill, 36, and his wife, Dianna, 34, were in serious condition, a hospital spokesman said.

James Boyd, 33, of Downey was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and released.

“I was the fortunate one--the lucky one,” Boyd said in a telephone interview at home Saturday.

He said that when the fire started, “Things were real fuzzy. I had trouble getting my buckle undone. Before I knew it there was fire and we were struggling to get out.”

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Robert Alexander, owner of San-Val Flying Service, the company that rented the plane, speculated that the heat may have made takeoff difficult.

An employee of San-Val, who identified himself only as “Tony,” said that Kane, who holds a commercial pilot’s license, “had way more experience than our requirements. He had well over 600 hours” in the air, he said.