Small-plane crash kills 2 from U.K. on reservation
By Pauline Repard and Norberto Santana Jr.
STAFF WRITERS
October 25, 2000
VIEJAS INDIAN RESERVATION -- A 22-year-old flight instructor and his student, both British citizens, died yesterday when their small plane crashed in a field here.
The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. near Viejas Grade Road and Browns Road, not far from the Viejas Casino. The victims' names were not immediately released.
The instructor worked for Anglo American Aviation Inc., based at Gillespie Field, for about six months, said company owner Christopher Watson.
"He was very experienced -- he had over 1,000 hours in the air," Watson said of the instructor. "He flew recreationally as well, and he's been here (San Diego) about five times before.
Watson said the student, in his late 20s, came from England for flying lessons about two weeks ago, and had put in 22 hours in the air.
The pair took off from Gillespie Field at 4 p.m., expecting to complete a one-hour routine training flight. Watson said he had no idea what might have gone wrong.
Sheriff's Deputy Kathryn Wayne was driving in the area and saw the plane circling before it crashed.
"She thought at first it was doing some acrobatics, but then noticed that the nose was pointed down," said Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Maxin.
Deputies found the plane, confirmed that the two on board were dead, and notified the Federal Aviation Administration and the county Medical Examiner's Office.
The single-engine plane, described by an FAA spokeswoman as a Cessna 152, appeared to have crashed nose first into the vacant field about a half-mile east of the casino. No one on the ground was injured.
Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to examine the wreckage in the morning, an FAA spokeswoman said.
The Cessna 152 is a high-winged craft made in the 1970s and popularly used for training, said Bill Owen, treasurer at Plus One Flyers Inc., a flying school at Montgomery Field.
"It's a low-performance craft, very easy to fly, very responsive, very forgiving," Owen said. "But I wouldn't want to be flying one of those today under the wind conditions, with the turbulence over the mountains."
Owen said his service had operated the plane that crashed until last month. Plane owner Robert Hogan, who runs Sea Breeze Aeronautics leasing service, then leased the plane to Anglo American. Watson said his company specializes in training flying enthusiasts from all over the world, who can't afford lessons at home because of higher aviation fuel costs.
Viejas residents said they frequently see small planes flying low overhead. They said flight instructors often use the area to practice maneuvers.
"This is the third crash that we've had, but the first fatality," said Sandra Barrett, 36, a tribal member who lives near the field. "Usually they land safely because it is so open. But this time, I don't think they had a chance."
Copyright 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.