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California

CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / TORRANCE

By Dan Weikel
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A home-built plane crashed at Torrance Municipal Airport on Thursday night, killing a flight student and seriously injuring the pilot, authorities said.

Officials for the Federal Aviation Administration said an Air Creation Twin 503 SL was preparing for takeoff about 9 p.m. when the engine suddenly revved in a ramp area near the airport’s west end. The two-seat aircraft gained speed, clipped a parked plane and became airborne, reaching an altitude of 75 to 100 feet before plunging into a grassy area.

The pilot was identified as Jon Perry Thornburgh of Redondo Beach, a retired airline pilot certified to fly a variety of aircraft from hot air balloons to Boeing 767s. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office did not release the name of the flight student who was killed.

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-- Dan Weikel

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California
Dan Weikel

Dan Weikel covered local aviation, the California high-speed rail project, Metrolink, the MTA and regional transportation issues for the Los Angeles Times before leaving in 2017. He started with the newsroom in 1989 and previously covered courts and transportation in Orange County, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as well as substance abuse, environmental issues and law enforcement as a member of a project team. A native of San Diego, Weikel is a graduate of the UC Santa Barbara and the master’s program at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

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