Observers Saw Smoke From Tires Before Fatal Plane Crash : Tragedy: Officials dispute claims that the pilot was practicing maneuvers. Reports suggest he may have been trying to brake.

Observers of the plane crash that killed two people Friday in Pacoima have told air safety investigators that they saw puffs of smoke from the plane’s tires before the craft attempted to take off from Whiteman Airpark.

The report that the pilot of the Rockwell Commander may have been trying to apply the brakes before the accident deepens the mystery surrounding the crash Friday evening. There had been speculation that the unidentified pilot was practicing maneuvers known as “touch-and-goes,” or repeated takeoffs and landings.

As the pilot tried to lift off the runway, the craft hit a light pole bordering the airport, then plunged in flames through the roof of a bakery across Osborne Street.

The pilot had just landed before taking off again, but airport officials on Friday disputed assertions that he was practicing takeoffs and landings. Accounts Saturday from observers in the tower that they saw smoke from the tires would seem to back that up.

“We have no idea why he was unable to stop, or turn off, or what his intentions were,” said Robert Crispin, an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Crispin was on the scene of the crash Saturday, gathering information. He said he would look closely at the wreckage to gather further information as soon as it could be removed from the charred interior of the San Fernando Valley Baking Co.

The coroner’s office said it would not identify the victims until a dental examination is made on the remains.

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Crispin said the plane had taken off from Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, near San Diego. An official with Airtime Aviation said the plane was owned by a dentist from the Vista area. He had been flying two years and had only recently purchased the craft.

“We’re really devastated,” said the official, who asked not to be identified. Airtime is a general aviation company that offers flying lessons.

Detective Gene Peterson of the Foothill Division of the Los Angeles Police Department said the pilot planned to visit relatives in Los Angeles. “They were unfamiliar with the airport,” Peterson said.

Crispin said the statement from witnesses in the tower at the small airport indicated that the pilot landed safely. But instead of slowing and turning off the engine, the craft continued down the runway and swerved “off to the edge and back to the center line,” he said.

When the tower observed puffs of smoke, they thought the pilot was stopping. But when the plane got to within 300 feet of the end of the runway, the plane lifted off again. There was speculation Friday that the extreme heat--which makes the air thinner and makes it tougher for planes to get the lift they need--might have had something to do with the crash.

Crispin said he had made no determination whether pilot error was to blame for the accident.