Pilot Identified In Fatal Plane Crash

LA VERNE, CA - It was a bizarre coincidence that led to two plane crashes outside of the La Verne Airfield, the National Transportation and Safety Board has said. The pilot and passenger of Sunday's crash were identified, while Monday's victim remains unnamed.

Frank Owens, 69, of Los Angeles died at the scene of the first of two fatal airplane crashes near the airfield over a two-day period.

A woman who was also in the plane, which went down about 6 p.m. Sunday near the 1600 block of McKinley Avenue, was hospitalized with injuries of undisclosed severity. It was unclear who was piloting the aircraft.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot was practicing approaches to the airport when the plane crashed into a nearby plant nursery.

About noon on Monday, a Beechcraft Bonanza V35 airplane occupied only by the pilot crashed near the scene of Sunday's crash, killing the man, whose name has not been released.

The crashes were unrelated and a "rare coincidence," according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which was investigating along with La Verne police and the FAA.

Photo courtesy Brian Shepherd