Plane Crash Survivor Severely Burned, Struggles for His Life

A Pasadena man was fighting for his life Sunday after a fiery airplane crash in Pacoima left him with third-degree burns over 92% of his body, according to medical officials.

Jordan Kaplan, 32, was being treated at Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital for “the worst exterior burns we’ve ever seen here,” said Larry Weinberg, spokesman for the burn center.

Weinberg held out hope, noting that Kaplan’s age and good health were in his favor. “We’ve had other patients with 90% of their bodies burned survive and walk out of this hospital,” he said. “But the odds are not good.”

Kaplan, who authorities believe was piloting the private airplane that crashed into a vacant Pacoima home Saturday afternoon, worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Weinberg said.

A woman in the plane died in the crash. Coroner’s officials said Sunday that they would not release her name until her identification could be confirmed with dental records.

Kaplan was heavily sedated and breathing with the aid of a respirator Sunday. Friends and family came in from Massachusetts, and he was able to communicate with them by squeezing hands or nodding, Weinberg said.

Doctors were hoping Kaplan would be strong enough for them to begin skin grafts later this week.

The crash occurred about a half-mile from Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima, where Kaplan and the woman took off in a vintage, single-engine plane shortly before 3 p.m. on Saturday. Officials said there were indications they were trying to return to the airport when the plane went down.

Los Angeles Fire Department officials said some witnesses reported that the plane was on fire before crashing. No one on the ground was injured.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to put out the blaze, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.