5 Killed, 1 Injured In Long Beach [CA] Plane Crash

cbs ^ | March 16, 2011 11:01 AM

[BenLurkin]

Five people were killed Wednesday and another person was injured when a twin-engine plane crashed after departing from Long Beach Municipal Airport.

The Beechcraft King Air crashed in the northwest portion of the airport at 10:30 a.m., according to the Long Beach Fire Department.

An FAA spokesperson said the plane caught fire after crashing. Authorities said the plane, which was owned by local businessman Thomas F. Dean, was headed to Salt Lake City. A spokesperson for Dean says that Dean, Jeff Berger, Mark Bixby, an unidentified pilot and another passenger are among those dead.

The spokesperson also said that passenger Mike Jensen is in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

FAA officials are investigating the cause of the crash.

Credit: CBS)

[trapped_in_LA]

Wow, I was driving by LB airport right when this happened! I saw the black smoke going up and figured it was just a fire drill or something. Sad, prayers for the family.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[MindBender26]

Ben,

Strange. Doesn't look as if there was much impact damage.

Should have been a survive-able accident, unless it was a flat spin impact, and notice there is no large account of skid marks behind A/C

?

[Turbopilot]

Upright intact fuselage after a crash on departure? What was the weather at the time?

[ReverendJames]

Look like it burned.

[rockinqsranch]

Appears in the picture to me to have hit the ground to the right side of the photo skidding in the direction to the left, and must have spun about as it skidded.

Curious about that NW side of the airport as I recall the airport on that side is totally asphalt, and structures, but then I worked on that airport in 1960, so my memory could be a tad faded. Seems to me the grassy areas were to the NE side of the airport.