Mel Blanc’s Son Seeks Damages in Santa Paula Airport Collision

Cartoon voice Noel Blanc filed claims Wednesday against the city of Santa Paula, Ventura County and the state, alleging that the design of the Santa Paula Airport was partly to blame for a midair crash that injured him and killed two men.

Blanc is seeking $10,000 in damages from each agency for “injuries, pain and suffering, severe emotional distress and loss of earnings” that he claims to have suffered in the Feb. 13 crash.

A claim is legally required before a lawsuit can be filed against a public agency.

The crash occurred when a Bell JetRanger helicopter piloted by Blanc collided with a small plane upon takeoff at the Santa Paula Airport, killing the plane’s pilot, Lee Manelski, 46, and his passenger, David Tomlinson, 18. Actor Kirk Douglas and another passenger in the helicopter suffered minor injuries.

Blanc, son of famed “Looney Tunes” cartoon voice Mel Blanc, was hospitalized with chest injuries and a leg fracture.

Noel Blanc’s claim says that the Santa Paula Airport’s runway and helicopter pad are too close together and that buildings and parked airplanes obstruct the view of pilots as they depart.

City officials could not be reached for comment. County officials have said they have no jurisdiction over the airport.

The day after the accident, federal investigators said the collision was caused by the failure of both pilots to see and avoid each other. An investigator said Manelski’s plane had the right of way when Blanc’s helicopter crossed its path.

The federal investigation is expected to be completed late this year.

The new claims follow by three weeks the filing of wrongful death claims by Manelski’s family. The family also alleges that airport design partly caused the accident because the helicopter pad is too close to the runway and cannot be seen by departing pilots.

Those claims--also against the city, county and state--seek $5 million in damages each.

Both sets of claims allege that the public agencies were responsible for regulating and designing the airport.

Blanc’s claims also allege that the accident was partly caused by the airport’s lack of instructions for departing aircraft.

The airport, a general-aviation field on the southern edge of Santa Paula, has no tower or air-traffic controllers.

An airport representative could not be reached Wednesday. But Santa Paula Airport Director Roger Harvey has said the airport has had only eight fatalities since it opened in 1930.

At uncontrolled airports, there is a single radio frequency by which all pilots are supposed to communicate, but they are not required to have a radio or to use one. Neither Blanc or Manelski used their radios before the crash.

Manelski was an expert pilot. He was a first officer with Trans World Airlines and a member of the U.S. aerobatic flight team.