Another Crash, Another Protest

It happens every time there’s a crash near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, and this time’s no exception. Residents, shaken to the core by the specter of sudden and untimely death, complain bitterly about the facility’s safety and call for its alteration or demise.

“We’re going to petition the City Council,” said Richard Fowler just hours after a small airplane nose-dived into a home 60 yards from his, killing the pilot and engulfing the house in flames.

“There are too many houses around here for a purely recreational airport. It’s happened before, and we’re going to have to start doing something. Every time you hear the planes, you expect them to go into the walls. When they pass, you breathe easier.”

His wife, Julia, who was across the street with the couple’s two young daughters when the accident occurred, agreed. “We’re just so fortunate that no one [on the ground] was hurt,” she said. “The neighborhood was full of kids.”

Esther Quiroz, who lives down the street and was driving home from work when she saw the huge plumes of thick black smoke rising from the doomed house, said that the accident left her “scared, really scared. The planes fly so low it’s a problem,” she said. “This was too close.”

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Since 1985, there have been 28 airplane accidents resulting in 12 deaths at or near the Fullerton Municipal Airport. Before Tuesday, the most recent happened in 1995 when a plane smashed into a Fullerton townhouse complex at 6:35 a.m. on a Monday, killing both men aboard.

The accident also killed a resident of the townhouse who was sleeping in her bed.

“I felt these deaths were inevitable,” a former mayor of Buena Park said at the time. “I’m surprised we haven’t had more accidents and deaths over the years.”

Ted Lopatkiewicz, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said he could not characterize the airport’s safety record without doing a detailed statistical analysis comparing it to the records of other airports, a procedure that is not normally part of an accident investigation.

“We investigate the accident, and if there is anything we find that is airport-specific, we would make a recommendation,” he said.

While Tuesday’s accident is under investigation, he said, it could be a year before the board issues any findings regarding its cause.

Airport manager Rod Propst described Fullerton’s safety record as “very good.”

“I understand the neighbors’ concern,” he said, “but it’s not something that’s a boiling issue. We work really hard to be good neighbors, and we’re going to work really hard to make them feel more comfortable by going back through our procedures to reevaluate.”

Others echoed Propst’s confidence.

“We feel that this [accident] is an anomaly,” said Bill Gosland, president of the Fullerton Airport Pilots’ Assn., which represents more than 300 pilots based at the airport. “For the number of operations conducted at the airport, the number of accidents is small. We don’t feel that it’s a major problem.”

Art Brown, a City Council member in Buena Park over which many Fullerton-bound aircraft fly, also defended the airport’s safety record.

An accident like this, he said, “is unfortunate, and of course it creates a lot of concern because airport accidents don’t happen that often.”

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History of Peril

Since 1985, 28 planes have crashed at or near Fullerton Airport, killing 12 people:

2000

April 11: Beechcraft Debonaire trying to return to airport clips power line and plunges into unoccupied home, killing pilot.

1996

Dec. 31: Single-engine Cessna loses power on takeoff and crashes in field near runway; no one injured.

Aug. 11: Pilot, 18, overshoots runway; plane crashes through fence and ends up on Dale Street in nearby industrial area.

1995

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

Oct. 15: Pilot of single-engine Cessna approaching airport escapes serious injury when plane crashes in 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 fatally injured when plane crashes and catches fire shortly after takeoff.

1993

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

1992

Dec. 22: Single-engine plane crash-lands about a minute after takeoff; no one injured.

Oct. 18: Single-engine plane approaching airport crashes in Buena Park residential street, critically injuring pilot.

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 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: Burning plane strikes fog-shrouded power lines and slams into empty parking lot at Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, killing pilot.

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 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.

Feb. 26: Plane overshoots runway and comes to rest inverted on Dale Street. Three riding in the plane are injured.

Source: Times reports