Instructor, Student Pilot Killed in Santa Monica Plane Crash
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Sept. 9, 2022) — A student pilot and their flight instructor have both died in a small plane crash Thursday afternoon at the Santa Monica Airport.
UPDATED: Christian West, 24, a Certified Flight Instructor at Santa Monica Flyers, is one of the two who died in the crash, according to the Los Angeles Coroner.
The fiery, crash occurred just before 4:25 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8th as the single-engine two-seat Piper Sport airplane attempted to land at the airport during an introductory flight , according to a news release by the Santa Monica Airport.
Apparently, the airplane took off around 3:30 p.m. and was returning to the airport and it touched down. However, the aircraft made an abrupt upward maneuver and went up about 100 feet before it crashed back down, according to investigators.
The instructor worked at the flight school Santa Monica Flyers for the past four years. He previously attended Santa Monica College where he earned an Associate’s degree in business administration and planned to eventually become a commercial airline pilot. Santa Monica Flyers has planned for a Memorial service for Christian West at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16th, according to its Facebook page.
There are no further details about the other person who died, according to ABC 7 News. The Santa Monica Fire Department responded, but sadly both people died at the scene.
An investigation into what caused the deadly crash is underway by the National Transportation Safety Board.
For more Information about the investigation visit www.ntsb.gov.
Johnson Attorneys Group does not represent any of the parties mentioned above. Furthermore, Johnson Attorneys Group has no intention to represent any of the parties discussed. We hope this news information is timely and helpful. However, if you would like to contribute any information or have legal questions, please contact us as soon as possible. Our law firm is a proud, longtime supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
SOURCE: Santa Monica Airport; ABC7News
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