Two Killed In Trojan Crash

Two men aboard a North American T-28C lost their lives Saturday when a T-28C trainer went down shortly after take-off from Van Nuys Airport (CA). The victims have not yet been publicly identified, pending notification of next of kin.

The Los Angeles Fire Department identifies the Trojan's N number as N537Z, which is currently registered to a Steve Masket, of Los Angeles, CA. Officials said the aircraft was headed for Thermal (CA), in nearby Riverside County, when it impacted the hillside, according to local rescue workers.

The heavily damaged aircraft was found near Los Angeles's famed Mulholland Drive in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley. The fire was quickly extinguished by eleven companies of Los Angeles firefighters, including Heavy Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue Units, two LAFD Helicopters, one EMS District Captain and five LAFD Rescue Ambulances, as well as two Chief Officer Command Teams in the Santa Monica Mountains near North Glenridge Drive in Studio City.

Eyewitness reports and a plume of smoke led firefighters to burning vegetation in a steep ravine where the Wright R-1820 powered civilian aircraft impacted the heavily wooded hillside. There was no clear indication of what might have led to the mishap, but anecdotal reports that the two-place trainer, built in 1956, might have suffered a full or partial engine failure.

"We have several reports ... that the airplane was sputtering and ran into the hillside. It made no action to divert or change its direction," LAFD Capt. Bill Wick told KCBS-TV. The NTSB and FAA are investigating.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov