YORBA LINDA (CNS) - The pilot who died when his Cessna airplane broke
apart and crashed into a Yorba Linda home, also killing four people inside the
home, was a 75-year-old retired Chicago-area police officer and restaurant
owner in Carson City, Nevada.
The plane nose-dived onto the 19000 block of Crestknoll Drive at about
1:45 p.m. Sunday, Orange County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Carrie
Braun said. The 1981 twin-engine Cessna 414A took off from Fullerton Municipal
Airport about 10 minutes before the crash, according to National Transportation
Safety Board Investigator Eliott Simpson.
The pilot was identified Monday as 75-year-old Antonio Pastini of
Gardnerville, Nevada. An employee at his restaurant, Kim Lee's Japanese
Restaurant and Sushi Bar, declined to comment, citing the wishes of the family.
``I called him that night and asked him to call me when he got home
safely, the only call I got was from the sheriff's department,'' Julie Ackley,
the pilot's daughter, told NBC4. ``He's been flying for over 50 years and this
was a horrible tragedy and a freak accident.''
Chicago Police Department officials say they have no record of Pastini
working for the force there, but Orange County sheriff's deputies found a
Chicago Police Department badge and retirement papers on him, Braun said.
Radar data indicate the plane made a left turn and climbed 7,800 feet
before crashing into the house, leaving the cabin in a ravine behind the house
and debris scattered over four blocks, Simpson said.
No information is available regarding why the plane crashed, Orange
County Fire Authority Capt. Cameron Rossman said.
Pastini was flying solo. Two males and two females were killed inside
the house, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Cory Martino said, but their names were
withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Two injured victims were hospitalized with burn injuries. Their
conditions were unknown.
One firefighter suffered an ankle injury, Rossman said.
In video footage shot by witnesses and given to ABC7, a two-story home
is shown engulfed in flames and a piece of the plane's wreckage is burning
in the street.
NTSB investigator Maja Smith told reporters that many witnesses saw
the plane's wings fall off before it crashed.
A total of 72 firefighters from the OCFA, Anaheim and Orange were
dispatched to the scene, he said.
NTSB investigators expected to spend Monday gathering evidence and
picking up the pieces of the aircraft before it is taken to a storage facility
in Phoenix, Simpson said.
A preliminary crash report will be available in 10-14 days, he said.
Nearby Glenknoll Elementary school, at 6361 Glenknoll Drive, was
closed Monday for the investigation, authorities said.
On Pastini's Facebook account on Jan. 27, he discussed his volunteer
work with Angel Flight, which provides airplane rides for the needy to get to
doctor appointments.
``Now I want to help more of those who need help, so I have an idea,''
he wrote. ``You want to go flying? Want an easy trip somewhere? Coordinate
with me so we can take a child for treatment or bring medicine or blood
somewhere where it will save a life. Pay for the fuel and together I will take
you where you want to go and we can help way more people. If you just save one
person isn't it worth it, and this way we can save many.''
CNS-02-05-2019 00:09
