Four Injured When C-310 Impacted Neighborhood In East LA

Investigators have determined a Cessna 310Q that impacted three homes in Compton, CA on Saturday lost power as it approached to land at a nearby airport.

As ANN reported Monday, two persons onboard the aircraft (type shown above) and two others on the ground were critically injured when the plane came down in a neighborhood in the 500 block of West Cyprus Street. All four are expected to survive; a fifth person was hospitalized briefly, after reporting chest pains at the scene.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the aircraft -- which was returning from Montgomery Field in San Diego to Hawthorne Airport -- was attempting to make an emergency landing at Compton Airport when the accident occurred.

Wayne Pollack, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Monday afternoon the aircraft lost power on approach and was in "uncontrolled flight" when it came down. Statements from the scene indicate one of the aircraft's two engines was still operating, however, with Pollack noting one witness told investigators they heard "the engine rev up just before the loss of power."

Photos show the aircraft came to rest in a nose-down attitude, with the nose crushed but the fuselage largely intact aft of the forward bulkhead. The aircraft's right wing separated when it struck the first home, "and it actually catapulted over the second residence and into the third residence," Pollack said. "During that maneuver, it happened to end up nose down."

Investigators noted the propeller on the stricken engine was still turning at time of impact, though at this stage it is not known whether the engine was producing power, or if the prop was windmilling.

Local officials identified the pilot as 71-year-old Charles Reese, "a commercially-rated instrument pilot" according to Pollack.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov