6 Hurt, 3 Critically, as Small Plane Crashes

A single-engine plane, struggling to take off from Van Nuys Airport in heat-thinned air, crashed into a fence and burst into flames Friday, injuring all six people aboard, three critically.

The six-seat Piper Lance PA32 crashed as the pilot tried to take off, witnesses said.

“It looked like he was having trouble getting started but he just kept going. It didn’t look like he was going to get off the ground,” said Allen Mikula, 25, of Mission Hills, a student pilot who was eating dinner in an outdoor observation area when the crash occurred.

The front of the plane was crushed against a fence and stopped near a railroad track about 300 feet beyond a runway at the north end of the airport.

All six passengers got themselves out of the burning plane, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Two women were treated at Sherman Oaks Hospital for critical burns, said hospital spokeswoman Johna Rogovin.

A man and a woman were treated at Panorama Community Hospital and then transferred to Sherman Oaks Hospital.

A 19-year-old Woodland Hills man was in critical condition at Northridge Hospital with burns over 30% to 40% of his body, and a 33-year-old man was treated for minor injuries.