While the investigation into Monday’s single-engine Cessna crash in Santa Monica continues today, Santa Monica Airport Director Robert Trimborn clarifies varying media reports of what is believed to of happened.
Trimborn said he was in his office when he witnessed the plane go down, about a mile and a quarter away from his building.
“All I saw was the airplane attempting to land,” Trimborn told The Mirror. “It appears as though he was going around when something went horribly wrong and the accident happened.”
Trimborn said the pilot was on a solo cross country flight to Santa Barbara.
“He experienced some kind of equipment failure and I’m not really clear of that, and then he came back to land,” Trimborn said. “He was on his return to landing when this happened. He wasn’t practicing takeoffs and landings. He was returning to the airport.”
The plane went down at 2:29 p.m. Monday, into a residential property near 21st and Navy Streets — about a third of a mile west of the runway.
The Mirror will keep readers updated on this story as new details are released.
Follow The Mirror on Twitter: twitter.com/SMMirror
Follow The Mirror on Facebook: facebook.com/SMMirror
