Wreckage Plumbed for Cause of Plane’s Crash

Accident investigators spent Thursday combing through wreckage and preparing a detailed analysis to determine what caused smoke to spew from a private aircraft before it nose-dived into an unoccupied Fullerton home earlier this week.

Investigators will likely spend the next nine months reviewing possible causes of Tuesday’s crash, which killed a Sherman Oaks physician piloting the plane, said Bob Crispin, air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Witnesses said they saw the Beechcraft Bonanza B36TC flying low, smoke streaming from its tail section, before the aircraft clipped power lines and plunged into the home at the corner of Courtney and Ash avenues.

The pilot, William Lofton, reported an “open door” just after taking off from Fullerton. Lofton turned the plane back toward the airport, but shortly before he crashed he radioed the distress call “mayday,” officials said.

Accident investigators are preparing to transport the plane’s single engine to Mobile, Ala., where officials from manufacturer Teledyne Continental Motors will conduct a thorough review, Crispin said.

Meanwhile, authorities are reassembling the rest of the salvaged craft at Compton Municipal Airport in an attempt to determine the cause of the accident.

Officials have already ruled out early speculation that the plane’s door might have broken off, hit the aircraft’s tail and prevented the pilot from steering, Crispin said. The door was recovered at the scene of the wreck.

Investigators have also ruled out possible problems with the plane’s turbo charger, Crispin said.