Pomona Plane Crash Victims Are Identified

Authorities on Thursday identified the three people aboard a small plane that crashed in a field at the Cal Poly Pomona campus Wednesday night but have not determined why the aircraft went down.

James Shear, 56, of Chino and Jeffrey David Rice, 32, of Bakersfield were killed when Shear’s single-engine plane, a Piper Comanche 250, crashed in Cal Poly’s Sprada Ranch, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker said Thursday.

The sole survivor, Wayne McGee, 53, of Moreno Valley, was found about 20 feet from the plane, presumably ejected from his seat, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

Emergency personnel reported that McGee sustained injuries to his face and mouth and could not remember what happened.

He was flown to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and was in stable condition Thursday morning, hospital officials said.

Although Shear owned the plane, authorities don’t know if he was the pilot. The pilot had contacted the control tower at Brackett Field Airport in La Verne shortly before the 7:50 p.m. crash Wednesday, Walker said.

The pilot “told the air traffic controller that his engine had gone out and that they would try to make it to the airport,” Walker said.

The plane was discovered three miles south of the airport near Pomona Boulevard and State Street. Cal Poly spokesman Ron Fremont said the site was used only as an agricultural training ground and no crops were being grown.

“We ... have over 1,400 acres of campus, so the crash was pretty far out from the main campus,” Fremont said. No further injuries or damage were reported.