Santa Monica Daily Press ❑ Wednesday, March 15, 2006 ❑ Page 7
LOCAL
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Photo courtesy of SMFD The plane that crashed into Santa Monica Bay on Monday was hauled off the beach after crews cut the aircraft into sections with a chainsaw.
Lifeguards, agencies praised for speedy response to crash in SM Bay CRASH, from page 1
emergency medical care. Tomarken, 63, and his wife, 41, took off from Santa Monica Airport at 9:35 a.m. en route to Brownfield Municipal Airport. Five minutes later, Tomarken radioed the control tower and reported engine trouble. Sources involved in the recovery of the plane said that the engine blew up in mid air, causing it to lose altitude quickly. Witnesses said they saw the plane flying south over the bay when it tried to turn back toward the airport. Due to the angle of the plane’s descent, it became clear to onlookers that the plane wasn’t going to make it to land, let alone the airport. The plane slammed into the water with a large splash. It rested on the surface for a minute or less and then sank rapidly, witnesses said. Tomarken, the host of the mid-’80s game show “Press Your Luck,” was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was transported to a local hospital, but died before she arrived, authorities said. Without a flight data recorder on board, investigators hope the autopsy will give them a better idea of what happened before and after the crash. They also hope the autopsy will determine the physical condition Peter Tomarken, believed to be the pilot, prior to take off. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is responsible for determining the cause of the crash, wants to know if Tomarken suffered from a heart attack or seizure before the accident and whether that caused his death, or if he and his wife drowned after the plane sank. Officials are also examining a video taken by Japanese tourists of the accident. The video may provide clues as to what Tomarken was doing prior to the crash — whether he was trying to make an emergency landing or had simply lost control of the aircraft. “We aren’t sure if the video will be helpful, but we look at every piece of evidence,” said Jeff Rich, regional director of the NTSB. “Sometimes there are video and audio recordings we can use to look at the sound spectrum and the frequencies to tell us the speed the engine was running, things like that. Sometimes it can be very useful. Sometimes videos aren’t.” The first step in the investigation was pulling the plane out of the surf, where it settled in about 19 feet of water, roughly 400 feet off shore. Los Angeles County Lifeguard divers surveyed the plane, took underwater photos for NTSB officials, and then tied balloon-like floaters to lift it slowly off the ground. They then tied ropes around the aircraft, and a bulldozer was used to drag it to shore, where the engine was washed thoroughly to remove any salt water. “Salt water immediately begins to corrode anything
that it touches, so if you don’t rinse (the engine) with fresh water and preserve it with diesel oil or some kind of oil, you really won’t have anything to look at,” Rich said. “In three or four days, salt water can turn the engine into white powder.” The wings were then cut off so that it could be transported by truck to a private facility in Pair Blossom, Calif. Investigators will now deconstruct the aircraft, starting with the engine and internal controls. They will also comb over flight records, the plane’s maintenance history, the Tomarkens’ health records, as well as their flying records. Weather conditions the day of the accident will also be considered, Rich said. The investigation is expected to take at least six months, Rich said. “We only have eight investigators for Arizona, Nevada … Hawaii … and about 350 incidents a year,” Rich said. NTSB officials praised the many agencies involved in the rescue and salvation operation. Kristi Dunks, who is leading the investigation into the crash, said the aircraft was recovered quickly, and that there was “excellent cooperation” among agencies, which included the Los Angeles County fire and sheriff’s departments, the Santa Monica Police and Fire departments, the U.S. Coast Guard and Santa Monica’s harbor patrol. As soon as the Tomarkens’ Beechcraft smashed into the 53-degree waters, lifeguards were already responding to the accident and were in the water within minutes, according to bystanders who witnessed the crash as well as investigators. Other agencies quickly joined in the rescue attempt. “Before the plane even hit the water, the lifeguards were on it,” said John Trumbull, who was walking his dog on a path near the beach and saw the plane hit. “There was no delay at all. They were there in a heartbeat.” Authorities said the swift response was due in large part to the advanced warning they received from Santa Monica Airport, as well as the close proximity of the crash to a lifeguard working near the area. Lifeguard specialist Dave Estey, who witnessed the plane having trouble from the lifeguard station at the pier, said lifeguards are trained to deal with plane crashes in the ocean and had trained just weeks prior to the crash in nearly the same location the Tomarkens’ plane went down. “Our dive team trains twice a month, practicing drills just like this in the event a small plane goes down,” Estey said. “But they never go quite like the rehearsals do.” For resident Tyrone Thompson, the rescue team performed above and beyond what was expected. “The plane just went down so fast, I don’t think there was anything they could have done,” he said. “They were incredible though. They deserve all the credit in the world.”
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