Crash Pilot a ‘Hero’ for Saving Lives

A plane crash near Fullerton Municipal Airport on Saturday has rekindled an old debate among neighbors about how safe they are. But all sides are in unison about the pilot who crashed: He died trying to save lives.

Don Dirian, a 69-year-old Whittier pilot and engineer, was at the controls of his beloved Cessna Skymaster, family and friends said, when it slammed back to the ground Saturday afternoon, shortly after takeoff from the airport. Witnesses said that thanks to the pilot’s maneuvering, the out-of-control, twin-engine plane narrowly missed houses and yards in nearby Buena Park. Instead, it exploded in a vacant lot, half a mile short of the runway.

“He definitely saw us and he moved,” said Clint Ochodnicky, 23, who credits the pilot with sparing his life and that of his 10-month-old son.

Ochodnicky said he and his son were outside when they saw a plane coming at them. On Sunday, Ochodnicky returned to the graffiti-scarred lot to pay his respects.

“Oh, this guy is a hero,” Ochodnicky said, looking at neighborhood children picking up burned bits of plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday the accident remains under investigation. They declined to release further details.

The crash, which is the 29th either near or at Fullerton Municipal Airport since 1985, has angered some residents who said they live in fear of a plummeting craft killing them in their homes.

Some residents favor a petition asking that flights over their neighborhood be stopped.

‘I love this neighborhood, but I’m very scared,” said Thelma Hernandez, who said she moved north of the flight path because she feared that a plane would hit her home.

The airport, she said “is too close to the houses. And there’s too many planes.” As she stood in the lot, the dark shape of a plane cut through the sun every few seconds, and she had to speak up to be heard over the drone of engines.

Others who came to pay their respects disagreed. Some pointed out that the airport, where planes have been flying since 1913, was there long before most of the housing developments.

Said Lynne Mander, an Anaheim resident and pilot: “If you’re going to buy a house, you[‘d] better think about what you’re doing.”

Because the pilot was badly burned, coroner officials have not released his name. But family members and friends said it was Dirian’s plane and that he did not return; they believe he was the victim. The family called close friends to inform them. Family members on Sunday gathered at the Whittier house Dirian had shared for the last decade with his wife. The family declined further comment. However, neighbors and friends described a quiet, thoughtful man with a dry sense of humor.

“By his actions yesterday, he saved the lives of a lot of people,” said Barry Bailey, who said he has lived near the Dirians for 10 years. “I think this would be typical of Don Dirian. He’s just a very, very nice human being who would rather do something positive for somebody rather than it be the other way around.”

Neighbor Lorraine Sawyer, who heard about the crash when Dirian’s wife called Sunday morning, described him as a “very busy man,” deeply involved with his family and community. She said he was constantly on the go, working hard at his aeronautical consulting business and visiting places like Japan, France and England. She said the Dirians also enjoyed traveling for pleasure and recently visited Hawaii.

At Fullerton Airport, those who knew Dirian said he was an accomplished and experienced pilot.

“He was relaxed, humorous, intelligent. . . . If he was in the military, he’d be getting a Medal of Honor for what he did yesterday,” said colleague George Crowe.