Plane Clips School Buses Near Airport

NORTH HILLS —  In a near catastrophe, a crippled airplane landed on a San Fernando Valley street Wednesday afternoon, clipping the front ends of two school buses carrying nearly 50 children but causing only two injuries.

“The potential for tragedy was tremendous,” said Capt. Joseph Curreri, of the Los Angeles Police Department. “Only by the grace of God did more than 50 individuals escape serious injury or death.”

Both buses were damaged and the plane’s wingtip fuel tanks were sheared off. A 6-year-old student and one of the bus drivers suffered minor injuries and were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center for treatment and released. The rest of the students were taken to nearby schools to be picked up.

The pilot of the 30-year-old, twin-engine Cessna 402A was heading to Van Nuys Airport from Laughlin, Nev., about 2:45 p.m. when he reported to the airport’s control tower from above Newhall that he had lost power in one engine, then the other. Moments later, the plane swooped onto Hayvenhurst Avenue, authorities said.

The gray-and-white aircraft hurtled south on Hayvenhurst about 500 yards at high speed before clipping the two Los Angeles Unified School District buses.

The buses were headed in opposite directions on Parthenia Street at Hayvenhurst. A bus from Parthenia Street Elementary School was carrying 42 students, ranging in age from 6 to 10, and the other was carrying four special education students from Lassen Elementary, authorities said.

The injured student was in the Parthenia bus, and was identified as Pricilla Garcia. She suffered a bump on the forehead and a bruised arm.

The injured driver, also from the Parthenia bus, was identified as Corliss Thompson, an employee of Laidlaw Inc., which provides contract bus service to the district. Laidlaw officials said she suffered neck and back injuries.

The other bus driver, who worked for the school district, was identified by school officials as Judy Benavidez.

A woman who identified herself as Thompson’s mother said at the hospital that Thompson, 33, lives in North Hills and has been driving buses for the school district for six years.

“She was scared to death,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “She thought the plane was going to tear the bus in half. It’s a miracle from God that she’s alive and nobody was killed.”

Several Parthenia students on the bus reported hearing a loud thud that jerked them around. Thompson slammed on the brakes and students began screaming.

“It went down, down, down,” said Jaime Pacheco, 8. “It was bad. I got scared. My friend wanted to cry.”

Parent Juan Zamora, 29, of North Hills, was at work cooking tacos when he heard a radio report about an airplane crashing into a bus with Parthenia Elementary students.

He was relieved when he spotted his 7-year-old son, Jorge, at Parthenia Elementary, where nurses treated students for minor injuries and parents hugged their children and took them home.

“Accidents happen . . . you see it on TV, but when it happens for real,” Zamora said, pausing. “I feel.”

The pilot, who was alone, was immediately interviewed by investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. His name was not released, but authorities said he works for Sunshine Airlines Inc., a Van Nuys charter firm.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Steve Ruda said the pilot was traumatized, but not injured.

“He’s emotionally upset, considering what could have happened,” Ruda said.

Sunshine Airlines representatives could not be reached for comment. According to its Web site, Sunshine Airlines maintains a fleet of 12 Cessna 402s and directly and indirectly employs more than 110 people. It charters flights for tour groups and movie studio productions, among others.

The plane’s registered owner is Sussex Aviation of Van Nuys. A spokesman said the company had leased the plane to Sunshine.

Although the cause of the plane’s malfunction remained unclear, authorities said it did not appear to have run out of fuel. Fuel remained inside the plane’s main tank, as well as the wingtip tanks.

Milad Herfeh, a pilot and employee of Sussex Aviation, said the engine quit about a mile from the airport. It was not clear if it was a malfunction of the fuel pump or some other problem, he said.

Authorities praised the bus drivers for being aware of the plane and seeking to avoid it, and for the pilot’s maneuvering to prevent a major accident.

“He just slid right between them,” Ruda said. “If he would have moved a few inches either way, it would have been a much different story.”

The incident created gridlock on surrounding streets all afternoon, indirectly leading to an accident at a Metrolink commuter rail crossing.

The driver of a Nissan Maxima, Luis Sagastume, said he became frustrated with the traffic tie-up on Balboa Boulevard near Roscoe Boulevard.

He tried to detour over the Metrolink tracks just north of Roscoe when the crossing gates closed behind him, he said, stranding his car on the tracks.

A sheriff’s deputy yelled at him to get out of the car, and Sagastume escaped seconds before the train smashed into his vehicle.

“I’m glad I’m still alive. I feel born again,” said Sagastume, as he held his car stereo, cassettes and papers. “I don’t care about the car.”

LAPD Officer Garry Kingsland said, “This is a miracle. There have been two miracles here tonight.”

Also on Wednesday, a twin-engine Piper Seminole plane made an emergency landing about 5:30 p.m. after losing power to one engine, said airport spokeswoman Charleen Klink. No injuries were reported.

“We’ve had enough excitement for one day,” Klink said.

Don Schultz of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. said the airport’s safety record must be judged in comparison to the large volume of air traffic it handles every day.

“If you look back at Van Nuys’ record, and the number of flights going in and out of there, it’s remarkable that there have not been more of these incidents,” Schultz said. “It’s amazing that no one got killed today.”

Witnesses said they were also surprised that no one was seriously hurt.

David Levin and his cousin Gennadi Rayzberg, both 14, were skateboarding when the Cessna zoomed past them. The boys went to a nearby home and called 911.

“I thought it was going to hit us,” Gennadi said. “I was scared.”

Michael Ambrose, 43, was working on his 1955 Chevy in his garage on Hayvenhurst when he saw the battered plane come to a halt.

“[The pilot] was upset, he was visibly upset, you could tell,” Ambrose said. “He was sitting in the plane with his head in his hands, saying ‘Get away from me, I don’t want to talk to you right now.’ ”

But most of the students appeared unfazed, authorities said. They were quickly consoled by firefighters and given Gatorade before being relocated.

“I want to say ‘Mom, I love you,’ ” 9-year-old Luigi Escobar of Parthenia Elementary said to the gaggle of reporters. “And I think you better come pick me up.”

Maribel Hamilton clenched her fists and sighed as her giggling daughter described the crash. “Everyone was saying, ‘Ow, that hurts,’ and they asked me if I was hurt,” said Michelle, 8. “I hit my head but it doesn’t hurt too bad.”

Her mother reached over and hugged Michelle. “I’m so nervous,” Hamilton said. “She’s the only one. I love my daughter.”

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Skirting Disaster

After his Cessna 402A lost power on approach to Van Nuys Airport, the pilot touched down on Hayvenhurst Avenue and used it as a runway. The plane hurtled south on the street before clipping two school buses approaching the intersection from opposite directions. One bus driver and one student suffered minor injuries.

Van Nuys Airport Mishaps

The following is a partial list of aviation mishaps involving aircraft heading to or from Van Nuys Airport:

June 20, 1999: A pilot en route to Van Nuys Airport landed in the northbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway near the San Fernando Mission Road offramp. About 10 motorists got out of their cars and pushed the aircraft 20 feet to the shoulder.

Feb. 16, 1999: A business jet carrying film director Barry Sonnenfeld veered off the runway and crashed into five parked planes. Sonnenfeld was not injured.

Oct. 26, 1998: A 27-year-old novice pilot on his first long-distance solo flight ran out of gas just a few miles from Van Nuys Airport and had to make an emergency landing on the eastbound Ventura Freeway near Tampa Avenue.

June 16, 1998: A North Hills couple died during takeoff when their single-engine plane nose-dived into a house at Andasol Avenue and Hartland Street.

June 6, 1998: A West Hills pilot en route to Van Nuys Airport was forced to land on the roof of Fashion Square Sherman Oaks.

Jan. 28, 1998: A two-seater single-engine plane veered off the runway at Van Nuys Airport and crashed into two parked planes. The pilot was not injured.

Aug. 17, 1997: A pilot was killed when his small plane crashed in the 17300 block of Parthenia Street, hitting the four-lane street between Balboa Boulevard and White Oak Avenue.

Nov. 16, 1996: A pilot crash-landed in heavy fog, his body and the wreckage of his plane undiscovered for more than four hours.

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Times staff writers Agnes Diggs, Art Marroquin, Jeffrey Gettleman, Karen Robinson-Jacobs and Roberto J. Manzano contributed to this story.