Back in the '90s I used fly into AVX quite often as I required all of my students to have that experience. (Santa Paula and Big Bear too) The hallway between the cafe and the restrooms in the terminal building was lined with interesting photos. One of those framed pictures depicted the Wrigley family DA-50 parked on the ramp. I first saw that photo on my first visit as a private pilot in about 1985.
Before signing the Island over to the Catalina Conservancy (present owners) the Wrigley (of chewing gum fame) jet is reputed in local aviation lore to have been seen there many times. I never saw the 50 myself, but I have seen allot of wrecked airplanes out there! A friend took me along in a Bushmaster 2000 (tri-motor) once. Next to the DC-3, that's the largest airplane I've seen there.
One time a Lear went off the end of 22 and burned on the slope below. The burn scar was visible for a few years. There have been quite a number of light aircraft end up in the fence and a number of fatal landing accidents. Most of them apparently related to the visual illusion created by the "humpback" nature of the runway surface and cliffs below the runway ends. There was also a guy who flew the VOR approach right into the VOR station a mile SE of the airport on a hilltop.
There's one particular table on the patio where the view of the approaches to 22 are ideal. Now that's entertainment! The vast majority of "interesting" approaches don't end in a crash.
westhawk