3 Die in O.C. as Airplane Crashes in Thick Fog : Disaster: Four-seater clips utility pole on approach to Fullerton Airport and slams into townhouse complex. Pilot, passenger and sleeping resident die.

A single-engine plane trying to land in thick fog at Fullerton Airport crashed into a townhouse complex Monday morning, exploding in flames and killing three people.

The four-seat Piper Cherokee had left Big Bear Airport half an hour before it slammed into a third-story bedroom half a mile from the airport at 6:35 a.m., killing the pilot, his passenger and a woman asleep in the room.

“People were screaming, ‘Somebody do something!’ ” said 31-year-old Ralph Nunez, who rushed to the complex after seeing the plane go down. “The palm trees were in flames, and I saw a woman running out with a baby in her arms. She was screaming that her mom was trapped.”

The woman’s mother, Sharan Ernst, 43, was the only resident who was unable to escape from the fire, which spread quickly because of the plane’s high-octane fuel, fire officials said.

Family members, who were in lower levels of the townhouse, fought to save her.

“My father and I made it up two flights of stairs, but he couldn’t go any farther because of the heat and smoke,” said the woman’s son, 20-year-old Jeremy Ernst. “I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel the flames.”

The victim’s husband, Ron Ernst, had left the bedroom just moments earlier to go downstairs.

The pilot was identified as 40-year-old Michael Benson of Big Bear. His passenger was 46-year-old Les Arehart, a management analyst for the city of Anaheim’s Finance Department, who lived in Big Bear on the weekends.

Because they were landing before the tower at the Fullerton airport opened at 7 a.m., Benson had contacted air traffic controllers in San Diego and had been cleared for an instrument landing about 10 miles from the airport, said Mitch Barker, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

At that time, Barker said, Benson asked that the controllers track him by radar and tell him when he was at the first marker, four to seven miles from the beginning of the runway.

After telling that pilot that he had reached that position, the controllers asked him to contact them after he had landed to tell them he was safe.

When the pilot reaches a certain altitude, it is up to him to decide whether to attempt a landing in foggy conditions, Barker said. But he must have at least one mile of visibility.

Airport director Roland Elder, who arrived at the crash site about 7 a.m., said employees told him the airport had been “completely fogged in” at the time of the crash. The plane had been flying west and was descending directly toward one of the airport’s runways when it struck a power pole, then some palm trees and finally, the townhouse complex. One of the plane’s wings was sheared before it hit the building, fire officials said.

“I was just coming out of the shower when the whole building shook,” said 30-year-old Ed Borgett, who lives next door to Ernst. “Right now, I’m just thinking about my neighbor. I haven’t even begun to think about the fact that I’ve lost everything I’ve ever owned.”

Dozens of residents in the eight-unit townhouse complex at 1811-17 Malvern Ave. fled with only the clothes they wore, and some made futile attempts to battle the blaze.

At least 16 people were left homeless by the blaze, according to a spokeswoman for the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Seventy firefighters arrived from three cities and the county and contained the fire in about 20 minutes. But they couldn’t search the building for more than five hours because floors and walls had been destroyed and the structure was not stable.

One Fullerton firefighter suffered burns on his face and arms and was taken to St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton.

John Emig, editor of the Big Bear weekly newspaper, The Grizzly, said that both Arehart and Benson were pilots. Emig said Benson owned the airplane and was married with three children. His 12-year-old son was feted at a combination birthday and “hangar-warming” party Sunday, Emig said.

“He [Benson] had just moved his plane into a new hangar. He and another guy had kind of a hangar-warming party. His son also had a birthday party,” said Emig. “I was there with about 50 other people. We had a good time, which made [news of the crash] a real shocker this morning.”

Emig said Benson commuted to Fullerton daily, either by flying or driving, and had obtained his pilot’s license about 18 months ago. Usually, he dropped off Arehart at Fullerton and then flew on to Hawthorne Airport. From there, he would drive to a foundry he owned in Gardena, said Jan Ehrenberg, office manager of Aero Haven, a charter service at Big Bear Airport.

“He was a good pilot, as far as I could tell,” Emig said.

Arehart, a paraplegic since a traffic accident in 1971, also was a flight instructor with Aero Haven, Emig said. He trained other paraplegics how to fly in specially equipped planes, said his friend, Bob Estanislau, of Laguna Niguel.

Monday’s crash reopened a longstanding debate over safety at the airport, which borders Buena Park. In the past 10 years, 24 planes have crashed and nine people have been killed, including Monday’s victims, at or near Fullerton Airport. But this is the first time that someone on the ground has been killed by an aircraft since the airport opened in 1927.

Some witnesses said they couldn’t understand why the plane was trying to land in such dense fog.

“I was sitting in my back yard when this happened and the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see the house across the street,” said 61-year-old Kerry Fix, who lives near the crash site. “I’m an ex-Navy pilot, and I wouldn’t have tried to land. My God, no.”

National Transportation Safety Board Regional Director Gary Mucho said an investigation of the crash is underway, but he declined to comment on the cause or circumstances of the accident.

“We’re now in the fact-finding stage of the investigation,” Mucho said. “I’m not going to speculate.”

Elder said about 150,000 aircraft take off and land at the airport each year, and that about half a dozen each day do so when the tower is closed from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“There’s very light traffic during the times that the tower is closed,” Elder said. “The control tower is there to separate air traffic from each other, not to guide aircraft to the runway.”

Meanwhile, the fog canceled one commuter flight and delayed others at John Wayne Airport on Monday morning, said airport officials. The morning’s first activity did not occur until 7:22 a.m., when a 7 a.m. flight was allowed to take off, said Pat Ware, a spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport.

More flights would have been scratched because of the extremely poor visibility, but the airport is closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

Times staff writers David Haldane, Martin Miller, H.G. Reza and Renee Tawa contributed to this story.

More Coverage

* CHAOS, TRAGEDY: Residents recount early morning crash that took three lives. A12

* CRASH’S VICTIMS: A devoted grandmother, a courageous achiever, a seasoned pilot. A12

* CHANGING CONDITIONS: Fog that may have hurt pilot’s visibility is expected to lift today. A12

* AIRPORT’S NEIGHBOR: Buena Park officials say advantages of facility outweigh its risks. A13

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Tragic Flight

The early morning crash of a single-engine airplane trying to land at Fullerton Airport killed the pilot, a passenger and a woman in a townhouse complex.

1. 6:30 a.m.: Heavy fog forces pilot to use instruments in landing approach

2. 6:34 a.m.: Plane clips palm trees, careens toward building

3. 6:35 a.m.: Crash spreads fuel and flames to neighboring apartment

Inside Apartment

Sharan Ernst was killed as she slept in the master bedroom of her townhouse; her husband had left her only moments earlier to go downstairs.

Sources: Times reports, Fullerton Fire Department

Researched by APRIL JACKSON and GEOFF BOUCHER / For The Times

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A History of Peril

In the past 10 years, 24 planes have crashed at or near Fullerton Airport, killing nine people:

1995

Nov. 20: A Piper Cherokee approaching the airport in thick fog crashes into townhouse complex, killing pilot, passenger and woman in bed.

Oct. 15: Pilot of a single-engine Cessna approaching airport escapes serious injury when plane crashes in dirt field in Brea.

1994

Sept. 27: Pilot and passenger critically injured when single-engine plane crash-lands on busy Fullerton street, narrowly missing several cars.

May 31: Pilot and passenger critically injured when plane crashes and catches fire shortly after takeoff.

1993

Nov. 15: Twin-engine plane plunges into Brea field, killing pilot, who was returning to airport.

1992

Dec. 22: Single-engine plane crash-lands about a minute after takeoff; pilot escapes injury.

Oct. 18: Single-engine plane crashes in Buena Park residential street, critically injuring pilot who was trying to land at airport.

Oct. 10: Cessna crash-lands on Santa Ana Freeway in Buena Park five minutes after takeoff; no injuries.

1991

Oct. 12: Stolen twin-engine plane crash-lands at airport; no injuries.

April 2: Vintage, single-engine Cessna 195 flips over after landing, causing no injuries.

Feb. 26: Single-engine plane loses power shortly after takeoff and crash-lands in nearby strawberry field; no injuries.

1990

May 26: Single-engine plane stalls on approach, hits telephone pole and crashes on road 100 yards short of runway; pilot and passenger suffer minor injuries.

March 19: Investigators use dental records to identify a dead pilot after burning plane strikes fog-shrouded power lines and slams into empty parking lot at Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park.

1989

Sept. 13: Cessna 152 loses power a minute after takeoff and crashes in Buena Park neighborhood, injuring instructor and student pilot.

March 20: Student pilot and instructor walk away after single-engine plane loses power at 400 feet and crash-lands on street minutes after takeoff.

1988

Dec. 17: Single-engine plane apparently out of fuel crashes into Buena Park supermarket warehouse when pilot tries to make an emergency landing at airport; pilot and passenger killed.

Sept. 23: Pilot and passenger injured when single-engine plane crashes at industrial park near airport.

1987

Nov. 26: Pilot and two passengers escape serious injury when single-engine plane loses power, clips building and crash-lands in street near airport.

Oct. 17: Single-engine plane crashes into Buena Park apartment complex shortly after takeoff, killing pilot and triggering fire that damages four buildings.

Oct. 7: Pilot is unhurt after single-engine plane crashes on takeoff from airport.

Dec. 11: Novice pilot crash-lands on Buena Park street when single-engine plane loses power at about 300 feet; no injuries.

1986

Nov. 21: Single-engine plane experiencing engine problems while approaching airport clips tree near school and crashes on front lawn of home. Instructor and student pilot suffer minor injuries.

June 4: KFI traffic reporter Bruce Wayne killed when small plane crashes and explodes after hitting a tractor-trailer half a mile east of airport shortly after takeoff.

1985

Jan. 14: Small plane loses power after aborted landing, clips chain-link fence and crashes into nearby railroad embankment; pilot and passenger suffer minor injuries.

Source: Times reports

Researched by by RENEE TAWA / Los Angeles Times