Plane Crash in Pacoima Kills Woman, Injures Man

A woman was killed and a man critically injured Saturday when the vintage, single-engine plane they were in crashed into a house shortly after takeoff from Whiteman Airpark, setting the residence on fire, authorities said.

The injured man was identified as Jordan Kaplan, 32, of Pasadena, but authorities said they had not yet identified the dead woman.

No one was injured on the ground. The house, about a half-mile from the airport in the 12700 block of Pierce Street in Pacoima, had been vacant for about three months, the next-door neighbor said.

Witnesses told of hearing an explosion and running outside and seeing the immediate area engulfed in flames.

“I could see the flames above the rooftops of the houses across the street,” said Jose Cortez, who was working in his paper-cutting shop when the crash occurred about 2:50 p.m.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said some witnesses said the plane was on fire before crashing. About 30 firefighters put out the blaze in 10 minutes, Humphrey said.

The woman, believed to be between 25 and 30, died at the scene, Humphrey said. The man, believed to be the pilot, was initially taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills with second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body, Humphrey said.

He was transferred to Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital at about 8:25 p.m., where he was listed in critical condition, said Larry Weinberg, a spokesman for the burn center. Kaplan was on a respirator and was being treated for cuts as well as burns. “He’s in very bad shape,” Weinberg said.

Kaplan is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Dr. A. Richard Grossman of the Burn Center said Kaplan’s parents had told him. The plane apparently was trying to return to the airport when it came down behind the house and landed on a garage that had been converted into an apartment, Battalion Chief Gary Bowie said. The front porch of the dwelling sustained minor damage.

Linda Del Toro, who lives near the crash site, ran to the scene when she heard the explosion. Del Toro said about 10 men were already working to put out the fire and had wrapped Kaplan in wet towels. It appeared as though he managed to walk away from the wreckage, she added.

“He was saying there was a woman with him and to look for her,” Del Toro said. “His face was so disfigured, and he had blood everywhere.”

David Guzman, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, said he was in bed watching television when he heard a loud explosion.

“I heard a great big boom,” he said. When he saw the flames, he said he thought a squatter had set the house on fire.

“My first reaction was that some drunk tried to light a cigarette in the house and it caught fire,” Guzman said. “I held that impression until someone told me that a plane crashed.”

Officials said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

Jose Cardenas is a Times staff writer and Karima A. Haynes is a correspondent.