Aircraft Crash near CMA Beech Bonanza (c/n CD-761) N460SR

[Helicopterfriend]

A small plane traveling from Chino (CNO/KCNO) to Camarillo (CMA/KCMA) crashed into a storage facility near a popular Camarillo shopping mall Saturday, fire officials said.

The crash happened around 1:30 p.m.

Four people were inside the plane and were able to exit on their own before fire fighters arrived. All were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Another suffered moderate injuries

The picture I took of the ship airbourne must have been when they were leaving CNO

Walt

[Doug Robertson]

The pilot of the crashed Beech 35-B33 Debonair was a student pilot with 80 hours, with his CFI in the right seat. His wife and another woman were in the back seats. This flight was his cross-country flight from CNO to CMA with instructor preparatory to his long cross-country solo flight in the training syllabus. When the engine quit on long final the CFI took over the forced landing, avoiding the shopping mall parking lot and landing on a storage facility's roof. The plane burned and the ensuing fire of the building as well was put out after several hours. The plane had plenty of fuel remaining in the tanks; running out of fuel was not the cause of the engine stoppage.

When I learned to fly in 1965-66 taking passengers (other than the CFI not considered a passenger) by a student pilot was prohibited by the FARs. I haven't checked recently, but such a flight would appear to be a FAR violation.

Incidentally, his wife was injured and doesn't want to fly any time soon with him again, according to the local The STAR newspaper report. They are religious missionaries. He is not dissuaded by the crash from continuing flight instruction.

All finals to 26 at CMA are long finals because of the severely displaced threshold to 26, keeping aircraft high over the Camarillo shopping mall and other buildings and the major divided Las Posas Road perpendicular to 26.