Pilot Sentenced to 6 Months in Crash That Killed Friends

An Encino pilot was sentenced to six months in jail Tuesday after pleading no contest to manslaughter in the deaths of two friends who were killed when he dipped the wing of his plane into the ocean while showing off on a flight near Malibu.

Roger Amiran, 27, was sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dino John Fulgoni for the April 9, 1987, plane crash that resulted in the drowning deaths of Matthew Fry, 23, of Agoura and John Harris, 23, of Northridge.

Amiran and a third passenger, Laurie Ann Thuer, 22, of Simi Valley, survived the crash and were picked up by rescuers.

Amiran, who investigators said had been drinking before the flight, was originally charged with second-degree murder. Under a plea agreement, he was allowed to plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter and faces no more than a year in jail.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lonnie A. Felker asked Fulgoni to impose a one-year term. Felker, a pilot who owns an aircraft similar to the one Amiran crashed, said the pilot dipped his wing into the ocean to create a water spray while boasting of his flying abilities.

“What we had here was a person who was reckless,” Felker said.

Amiran, who apologized for his actions, asked to be placed on probation. Fulgoni ordered him to be jailed for six months, and to complete 200 hours of community service and three years probation.

Amiran had a blood-alcohol level of 0.02% when tested three hours after the accident, officials said. The legal limit for pilots is 0.04%.