Four Dead, 15 Injured as Small Plane Crashes near LA

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 05, 2002

Four Dead, 15 Injured as Small Plane Crashes near LA

A small twin-engine plane crashed into a crowded park Thursday in the Los Angeles suburb of San Dimas, killing at least four people, including two children, and injuring 15 others, authorities said.

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A small twin-engine plane crashed into a crowded park Thursday in the Los Angeles suburb of San Dimas, killing at least four people, including two children, and injuring 15 others, authorities said.

The plane crashed into a picnic area at Bonelli Park around 12:35 pm (1935 GMT) shortly after taking off from a nearby airport servicing light aircraft.

The dead included Michael Brand, the plane's 44-year-old pilot, who died en route to Pomona Valley Hospital, and 12-year-old girl Jackie Ton, who was crushed under a wing of the plane, said hospital spokeswoman Kath Roche.

Ton's 15-month-old brother died later at Citrus Valley Medical Center from "massive head injuries," said Los Angeles Fire Department inspector Roland Sprewell.

The plane's co-pilot, whose identity has not been established, died at the accident site, Sprewell said.

Fifteen people, including four children, were injured in the crash, six of them seriously, he added.

The plane crashed in a park where crowds were out celebrating the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday in traditional style with picnics and barbeques.

Jackie Ton's father said the tragedy struck when his family was about to sit down for a meal.

"A lot of people panicked," he recalled. "I'm looking for my daughter. She's under the wing of the airplane."

California Governor Gray Davis said later that the crash appeared to be due to an accident.

"As best I can tell, there were two maydays radioed from the small plane to the airport," Davis told a news conference.

"So clearly this was a mechanical problem, very unlikely to have anything to do with a plot against anyone," Davis said, in reference to warnings by US authorities there might be terrorist attacks July 4.

CNN reported earlier that the pilot said he was having trouble climbing, declared a mayday and crashed into the water minutes later.

The plane then skipped into the water and hit people at a waterside park.

The incident happened about an hour after a shooting at nearby Los Angeles International Airport.

Three people died after a gunman opened fire at Israeli national carrier El-Al's ticket counter at the airport, the world's fourth busiest. Several other people were injured, authorities said.

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