AIRPLANE ACCIDENTS: SANTA CATALINA ISLAND

Wayne Kratzer photographed this propeller and hub assembly at the Isthmus of Catalina in July of 2007. It may be from a Vought F4U-1D or a TBM-3 that crashed on the island in the 1940s.

http://www.aircraftwrecks.com/pic_archive/pic7.htm

• 8/4/1996: Cessna 421C crash

4 serious; 2 minor

SANTA CATALINA ISLAND FATAL AIRPLANE ACCIDENTS:
DATE	AIRCRAFT	IDENTIFICATION	FATALITIES	CIRCUMSTANCES
1921	Curtiss Flying Boat USN		3 fatalities	crashed into headland south of Avalon
January 19, 1923	F-5L-2 Seaplane		Lieut. W. H. Rohrbach	7 injured
November 2, 1933	Wilmington-Catalina Amphibian		Elliott McFarlane Moore, airline manager George R. Baker, co-pilot	pilot Walter L. Seiler (42) survived
April 30, 1942	Lockheed P-38D Lightening		Lt. Walter F. Lichtenberger, pilot	crash-landed at Buffalo Springs
October 17, 1944	Goodyear Blimp USN	King III	Thomas H. Ralston Thomas R. Smith Wallace H. Marriage Edward T. Gorski Gordon F. Kaiser Preston L. Girard	6 survived
1944— 1945	Voght F4U USN		pilot killed	drowned in kelp
April 14, 1945			2 Navy pilots	mid-air collision off Santa Catalina Island
September 26, 1945			LeRoy Herr Edwin O. Hoell	jet crash at Santa Catalina Island
August 28, 1951	Grumman TBM-3E		4 fatalities
September 24, 1954	F9F Panther		Arthur Wagner	crash caused by engine failure
July 25, 1956	ADS Skyraider		marine lieutenant	George V. Mikkelsen, pilot survived
October 12, 1958	Republic Seabee		Vincent R. Pardew Marcelle Crumley Edgar Hinton	crashed into a mountain
July 7, 1960			Howard H. Holder Robert T. Woyaich
August 9, 1966	Cessna 150A	N7160X	1 fatality	ACCIDENT REPORT
May 12, 1967	Piper PA-24		Frederick Phillippi Sally Phillippi Gilbert Renbarger Arlene Renbarger
May 27, 1967	Grumman G-73	N2968	1 fatality	3 injured ACCIDENT REPORT
September 12, 1967		N5638P		plane crash map
September 29, 1968	Grumman G-21A	N325	1 fatality	Catalina Seaplanes ACCIDENT REPORT
January 10, 1969	McDonnell Douglas F-4B USN		2 fatalities	hit a ridge
February 18, 1969	Grumman E-1B USN		5 fatalities	hit Silver Peak
March 21, 1972	Cessna 150H	N50218	Roy W. Corrigan Roger T. Powell	ACCIDENT REPORT
January 14, 1973	Piper PA-24	N5334P	1 fatality	ACCIDENT REPORT
November 5, 1976	Beechcraft D45	N14406	1 fatality	ACCIDENT REPORT
August 19, 1977	Grumman G-21 Goose	N979SB	1 fatality	Catalina Airlines
August 22, 1977	Beechcraft E18S	N979SB	Charles C. Clifford Robert G. Graves	Air Fast Freight ACCIDENT REPORT
December 14, 1977	Bellanca 7ECA	N5233X	1 fatality	ACCIDENT REPORT
July 10, 1978			Georgia Grace Wyatt	Catalina Airlines helicopter
April 14, 1979	Grumman G-21	N11CS	Ruth Gardner	Catalina Airlines aircraft was landing at Pebbly Beach when pilot attempted a go-around to avoid a boat wake. Aircraft stalled and crashed. Catalina Goose
September 17, 1979	Grumman	N22932	1 fatality	Catalina Airlines. Elevator control cable broke during a take-off at Pebbly Beach and aircraft crashed.
December 10, 1979	Piper PA-28	N8432C	David Lee Riddle Eddie Reyes
January 26, 1980	Piper PA-32	N2781M	Mark Anthony Felice	Roman Noah Felice, pilot survived; saw USO (unidentified submerged object)
February 22, 1981	Sikorsky S-62A	N324Y	2 fatalities	Catalina Airlines helicopter
May 28, 1981	Beechcraft 58	N140S	2 fatalities
June 11, 1982	Wing D-1	N8601M	Alfred Asterman + 1 fatality
January 3, 1983	Piper PA-28-161	N2239M	Max Reinstein James Henry Gibbons	+ 2 injured. ACCIDENT REPORT
January 30, 1984	Leerjet 24	N44GA	Kenneth Doyle Plante David Soderling Steven A. Berardi Heather Berardi Joe L. Denison Oralyn Ann Denison	ACCIDENT REPORT
May 20, 1984	Piper Lance	N30298	2 fatalities	3 injured
June 18, 1984	FA-18 Hornet		James R. Brodengeyer	fighter jet crashed into the island above White's Landing. Deputy Jimmie Richard Henry was the Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff assigned to the Avalon Station. Deputy Henry's single exposure to toxic carcinogens he inhaled at the crash site while on duty, was the proximate cause of his untimely death on May 12, 1995. He was 49 years old.
January 18, 1985	McDonnell Douglas F-18		1 fatality
November 30, 1985	Bell 206-L Jet Ranger		Hossein Habibi	11 survivors; Island Express helicopter collision
July 3, 1990	Cessna 172N	N2810E	Robert David Harder, Jr. (15)	Robert David Harder, pilot survived Jonathan Benzing (33) survived
May 2, 1992	Beechcraft A-36	N583T	1 fatality
May 27, 1992	Beechcraft S-35	N5874S	2 fatalities	ACCIDENT REPORT
February 15, 1993	Beechcraft E-33	N7882R	1 fatality	Pilot committed suicide. A note was found in his car at Long Beach Airport the nest day.
April 5, 1994	Cessna 152	N93508	Jeffrey Noel Matson	ACCIDENT REPORT
February 11, 1997	Piper PA-28-161	N8436X	1 fatality	ACCIDENT REPORT
May 7, 1998	Cessna 172N	N6514E	Darin Cameron Audrey Nizich Peter Nizich Jennifer Ortega	ACCIDENT REPORT
September 30, 1998	Cessna 152	N49770	1 fatality
November 21, 1999	Aerostar 600	N97CC	1 fatality
August 2, 2002	Beechcraft 58-TC	N2102L	2 fatalities (54) & (48)	ACCIDENT REPORT
December 24, 2003	Piper PA-34-200T	N3747U	5 fatalities	ACCIDENT REPORT
August 31, 2005	Avions Robin R	N216RN	1 fatality
September 7, 2005	Cessna 172RG	N9636B	2 fatalities	ACCIDENT REPORT
May 24, 2008	Aerospatiale Helo	N67GE	Emeric Maillet John Terry Tania Hurd
October 20, 2008	Mooney M20J	N201EN	Dr. Charles Cowan Jeanien Cowan Patricia Carmichael	Stanley Carmichael survived ACCIDENT REPORT
February 5, 2009	Beechcraft A-36	N66819	Mark Hogland Amy Marie Judd Marshall Goldberg	ACCIDENT REPORT
July 1, 2010	Cessna 182P	N222CG	Jeffrey Loeffler	pilot had a heart attack ACCIDENT REPORT

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Csssna 182, Santa Catalina Island, 2010

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April 15, 1945 [LBI]: “2 Navy fliers die in crash off Catalina. Two naval fighter pilots were officially reported missing by the navy yesterday, following the mid-air collision of two fighter planes off Catalina on Friday. ACcording to the public relations office of the naval operating base, the ships were on routine maneuvers, and were flying from a Southern California naval station. The pilots, who are listed as missing because their bodies have not yet been recovered, were Lt. Benjamin Frankel, whose mother, Mrs. Fannie Frankel, lives in Cudahy, Wis. and Ens. Willard James Teitz, whose mother, Mrs. Pearl May Teitz, residing in Chipperwa Falls, Wis. In both cases the next of kin has been notified. An intensive search of the area is being carried on with small craft and observation planes, the navy explains.”

July 30, 1949 [Long Beach Press Telegram]: “Avalon Bay Crash Severs Fliers Legs. Crash of an amphibian plane at the mouth of Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island, late this morning caused the pilot and his passenger to lose their legs, island authorities reported. In serious condition in Avalon Hospital are Jack Dowdle, about 40, pilot, and Frederick Kelly, 43, both of San Diego. It was not indicated whether they will be returned to the mainland. The Avalon harbor master said the plane plunged into the water and the men were rescued by the crew of a water taxi just before the plane sank. The plane was reported to be operated by Swift Air Service, San Diego.”

Swift Aero Service

July 31, 1949 [LBI]: “Prop severs legs from 2 in crash. A spectacular airplane crash in Avalon Bay Saturday afternoon caused whirling propeller blades to knife off the legs of the plane's two occupants. The victims were San Diego fliers Jack Dowdle, 38 and Frederick J. Kelly, 43. Thousands of horrified vacationists saw the tragedy. The single-engine amphibian spun on its side at takeoff when it skidded in the wake of a passing speedboat. The plane engine, mounted above and behind the occupants at center wing, slid forward and toppled into the cockpit, the propeller striking the men's legs. Dowdle is the owner of the Swift Aero Service, operator of seaplanes between San Diego and Catalina Island. More than 1000 persons went to Avalon Hospital to volunteer blood transfusions for the men.”

July 26, 1956 [LBI]: “Scout saves flier from sea; officer still missing in crash. After 16 hours of drifting in the cold waters of Catalina Island, a Marine Corps pilot was rescued Wednesday by a Sea Scout ship. The pilot, M. Sgt. George V. Mikkelsen, 1315 S. Doreen Way, Santa Ana, had been missing since he rode his disabled ADS Skyraider into the sea Tuesday afternoon. Still missing is Mikkelsen's passenger, a Marine lieutenant who accompanied him on a classified mission out of El Toro Marine Crops Air Station near Santa Ana. His name was not released. Search for the passenger was called off at nightfall Wednesday, the Coast Guard announced. Participating in the search were five Marine helicopters, three Coast Guard surface vessels and a Coast Guard aircraft. The lieutenant is believed to have parachuted from the plane seconds before it plunged into the ocean. Sgt. Mikkelsen was lifted from the water by Sea Scouts aboard the Anaheim Scout boat Rotaleo after one of the Scouts, 16-year-old Jim Nellesen, dived into the water to aid him. Nellesen, 11334 E. Romneya, Anaheim, spotted the pilot bobbing in the sea at 7:35 a.m. Wednesday. "The pilot was nearly unconscious and as blue as my Levis," reported Tom L. Hoag, Jr., 38, of 817 W. Sycamore, Anaheim, the Rotelo's skipper. Aboard the Rotelo, a 45-foot vessel, were 13 Scouts, Hoag and two other adults. The boat was heading to Catalina Island from the Santa Barbara Islands on a summer cruise. It's due to return to Newport Beach Saturday. After picking up the pilot, the vessel sailed to Emerald Bay near the Catalina Isthmus. A Marine amphibian met the boat there and flew Mikkelsen to the El Toro dispensary. The 192-pound sergeant, a flier for 15 years, suffered severe shock but otherwise appeared uninjured. In is hospital bed at El Toro he said he lost his life raft packet when he struck the water. He dived for it but it sank beyond his grasp. "I hated to see that thing disappear," he remarked, smiling weakly. He told of sending up two flares and of the long hours during which he alternately swam, floated exhaustedly in his life preserver, prayed, slept or lapsed into unconsciousness. "When I was napping," he said, "a big wave would slap me and wake me up." His first words when pulled from the water were "How's the little lieutenant?" He was referring to the second lieutenant who accompanied him on the ordnance evaluation mission. Lt. Col. D. L. Cummings, commanding officer of the Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 15, said Mikkelsen earlier had told him of instructing his fellow Marine. "Get the switch off, Mike." The sergeant said that when his plane developed trouble he ordered his passenger to bail out. Mikkelsen stayed with the plane and rode it down into the ocean. As Sgt. Mikkelsen drifted in the chilling waters, he thought of "my little boy — the shape of his head." He explained that his 4-year-old son, Mike, fell several days ago and suffered a head gash. The wound had started to heal but still looks angry, he said. Sgt Mikkelsen said he didn't worry about rescue, about sharks or about dying. "No I didn't want to think about any of those things — so I didn't," he said. "Sharks?" Once I felt something on my leg but I didn't want to even think about what it was," he added. His wife, Dorothy Lee, visited him in the hospital Wednesday. The couple also have a daughter, Melanie, 5. Asked if he remembered the Sea Scouts who rescued him, Sgt. Mikkelsen replied: "Everything about that is real vague. But I want to see them all. They're great — all time boys." The sergeant indicated the lieutenant may not have had time to parachute to safety. He said he "felt the lieutenant" next to him but did not see him during the hectic moments of departing from the crippled fighter bomber. The plane, attached to the 3rd Marine Wing, took off from El Toro at 3:48 p.m. Tuesday. Search for the missing craft was ordered at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Planes Tuesday night lighted the area with flares in an attempt to locate the victims. There has been no sign of the plane wreckage so far.”

May 28, 1992 [LAT]: “Two people died Wednesday when a private plane crashed near the airport on Catalina Island, a sheriff’s deputy said. The plane went down on a wooded and brushy hillside two miles west of Airport-in-the-Sky about 3:15 P.M., said an airport official. The plane lost power after takeoff, said sheriff’s Deputy Hal Grant.”

May 29, 1992 [NYT]: “A man and a woman were killed when their small plane crashed on takeoff from the airport on Catalina Island. The plane went down on a wooded and brushy hillside two miles west of Airport-in-the-Sky about 3:15 P.M., an airport official said.”

November 22, 1999 [TI/Avalon]: “A twin-engine Piper aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Catalina Island today, killing at least one man. The six-seat, 1974 Piper Aerostar 600A took off from Fullerton Airport in Orange County at 9:15 A.M. today and disappeared from radar an hour later, said Kirsto Dunn, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman in Seattle. Officials did not know how many people were aboard because the pilot did not file a flight plan, Ms. Dunn said. The airplane had been flying at about 5,500 feet on training maneuvers, she said. The Coast Guard was searching about 14 miles northeast of the island resort, which is about 30 miles off the Southern California coast, and had recovered some debris from the plane. One man’s body was taken to a Coast Guard base in Los Angeles, the agency said. No other information about the man was available.”

November 3, 2001 [NTSB]: “Piper PA-32-260, registration: N3516W; 3 pax uninjured. On November 3, 2001, at 1645 hours Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-32-260, N3516W, sustained a loss of engine power during departure climb and ditched into the Pacific ocean, about 4 miles south of Catalina Island, Avalon, California. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private rated pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The originating flight departed from runway 22, and was destined for Carlsbad, California. The pilot reported that after takeoff the engine began making a "rattling" noise with a loss of engine power. He was unable to return to the runway and landed in the ocean. The Catalina Island airport manager stated that a pilot reported hearing the accident airplane prior to departure and that the engine sounded "terrible or strange" to him.”

Piper PA-32-260 in 120 feet of water, Santa Catalina Island

Piper , Santa Catalina Island

August 9, 2002 [TI/Avalon]: “The Catalina Island Airport in the Sky was the scene of a tragic crash of an incoming plane last Friday afternoon. Fog contributed to the pilot’s difficulty in putting his Beechcraft Baron twin engine plane down on the runway. According to Station Commander Gary Olson, the pilot was approaching the airport from the ocean side, trying for runway 44, at high speed. He misjudged the length of the runway, was unable to stop before plunging off into the hillside brush, about 100 yards from the end of the runway. The plane disintegrated on impact, burst into flames, starting a brush fire in the surrounding area. Both the pilot and his female passenger were killed instantly. The couple were coming from Cave Creek, Arizona, outside Scottsdale, to meet up with a brother, also flying in from Concord. The brother landed successfully shortly before the ill-fated Beechcraft. The brush fire burned about one quarter acre before it was extinguished by both county and city fire personnel, Search & Rescue, both the east and west teams, Sheriff’s deputies from both Avalon and the Isthmus, plus volunteer firemen from Avalon. The crash occurred at 2:15 P.M. Friday afternoon. By 5:30 P.M. a helicopter carrying the coroner and crash investigation representatives had arrived on the scene. The bodies were retrieved and removed to the mainland by 9:30 P.M. The pilot was a 54 year old man, accompanied by his longtime companion, a 48 year old woman. This was the second airplane crash with fatalities, and brush fire resulting from it in several years. The preceding crash was responsible for causing the fire at Goat Harbor.”

December 25, 2003 [CT]: “Avalon, California—A twin-engine plane crashed into a mountain on Santa Catalina Island in poor weather Wednesday, killing all five people aboard, authorities said. Three adults and two children were killed, said Brendon Peart, supervising dispatcher for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The victims were not immediately identified.”

September 1, 2005 [LAT]: “The pilot of a small, private plane died Wednesday when his aircraft crashed into the sea two miles off Santa Catalina Island, but a passenger survived and was rescued by a pleasure boat, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Robin Sport aircraft was flying from Long Beach to the Isthmus on Catalina when it developed engine problems, authorities said. The plane crashed two miles from Isthmus Harbor.”

October 18, 2015 [LAT]: “AVALON — A single-engine Cessna 172 airplane missed the runway while landing at the Catalina Island Airport in the Sky at 4:08 p.m. on Thursday, October1, and fell onto the roadway below. Witnesses said the three people who were in the airplane were able to leave the wreckage on their own. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire departments were summoned to the scene. The Catalina Island Conservancy operates the Airport in the Sky, and its airport staff and rangers assisted the pilot and two passengers. “We thank our staff for their quick response, and our thoughts are with those who were in the aircraft,” said Tony Budrovich, Conservancy chief operating officer.”

October 17, 2015, Santa Catalina Island

November 29, 2015 [LAT]: “AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - A small single-engine private aircraft crashed Sunday afternoon, November 29th, while attempting to landat Catalina Island’s Airport In The Sky. The incident occurred around noon. According to airport personnel, the plane ran off the end of the runwayand ended up upside down on the adjacent hillside. Of the four passengers on board, threewere transported to Catalina Island Medical Center, with one reporting back and neck pain, and two reported as having only minor injuries. The fourth passenger was not injured. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire departments, City of Avalon Fire Department and Catalina Island Conservancy Rangers all responded to the scene. The Catalina Island Conservancy operates the airport.“We would like to thank all the various agencies who responded to yesterday’s incident and our thoughts to the people in the aircraft,” said Tony Budrovich, chief operating officer for the Catalina Island Conservancy. For additional information, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire departments.”

November 29, 2015, Santa Catalina Island