Physician Killed in Plane Crash Is Remembered

Physician William Lofton was remembered Wednesday as a towering, once-menacing linebacker who delivered babies with a tender touch at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City.

Lofton, 50, of Sherman Oaks was killed Tuesday when his single-engine airplane crashed into an unoccupied home near Fullerton Municipal Airport in Orange County and exploded on impact. The obstetrician-gynecologist was the only person on board the plane, and no one on the ground was injured, airport officials said.

Fullerton Airport manager Rod Propst said Lofton had reported an open-door problem to the control tower and asked to make a left turn in order to head back to the airport. Soon after, controllers said they heard Lofton screaming and calling “Mayday!”

The Orange County sheriff-coroner’s office confirmed Wednesday the body found inside the plane was Lofton’s. National Transportation Safety Board officials combed through the wreckage, searching for clues to the cause of the accident.

Grieving colleagues said the 6-foot-4-inch Lofton was known to give bear hugs to both fellow workers and patients.

“He was a big man who looked so imposing,” said Virginia Ambrosini, the health maintenance organization’s medical director for the San Fernando Valley. “Yet he was so gentle with the babies he delivered.

“He was a hard worker who put the patient first before anything else.”

A flag flew at half-staff outside the medical center Wednesday and throughout the day flowers were left at Lofton’s office door, hospital engineer Joan Gonzalez said. Lofton had delivered three of Gonzalez’s grandchildren.

Gonzalez did not learn of the doctor’s death until she arrived at the hospital Wednesday for work.

“I’ve had a hard time getting through the day,” she said. “He was a big man with a big heart.”

To assist hospital employees in coping with the loss, a chaplain and a team of grief counselors made the rounds. “There have been a lot of hugs and talking with one another,” said chaplain Eugene Roy, who knew Lofton.

“We want him back like crazy, but knowing he won’t makes it rough,” Roy said. “It’s a difficult loss for everyone at the hospital.”

Roy said by midafternoon he had spoken with nearly 70 staff members, some of whom gathered in a conference room to share their feelings.

Lofton left behind his wife, Beverly, and their 11-year-old daughter.

“I’m surviving and I’m transitioning into the next life,” Beverly Lofton said, speaking from her home where family members had gathered. “It’s going to be very difficult, and I’m doing the best I can do right now.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Born in Washington, D.C., Lofton went to Colgate University, where he played linebacker for two years on the school’s football team, said Dr. Nabeel Atalla, also an obstetrician-gynecologist at Kaiser.

Lofton graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1975. He began working for Kaiser in 1984, hospital officials said.

In 1985, Lofton bought the B36TC Beechcraft in which he died, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

He enjoyed taking trips to Las Vegas, said his cousin, Drew Hyde, who lives there. Lofton also occasionally offered flights to friends who needed to get somewhere on short notice.

His passion for flying was equaled by his love for athletics, friends said. Known to fly to cities with plush golf courses, he also coached a local girls’ soccer team and was an avid skier. He had recently bought a free-standing basketball hoop for his home in the Royal Woods section of Sherman Oaks.

Beverly Lofton said a memorial service is tentatively planned for next Wednesday at an Encino church.

Contributing to this story was Times staff writer Jack Leonard.