Westminster man was aboard plane that crashed off Long Beach

Personal Injury News

Article Date: 5/23/2009 | Resource: MLG

Westminster man was aboard plane that crashed off Long Beach

“Los Alamitos pilot is believed to have been aboard 1 of 2 planes that collided Monday.”

Authorities today identified two of three people who died in the collision of two small planes off the coast of Long Beach.

James Chong Choo, 32, of Torrance, and Thomas Reinhold Ferrell, 31, of Westminster, were the occupants of one of the aircraft, said Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the coroner’s office.

The name of a third person, whose body was also recovered, was being officialy withheld, pending notification of relatives, Winter said.
But Gary D. Gierczak, of Los Alamitos, was piloting a Cessna 310 that collided with the Cessna 172 Choo and Ferrell were in, his wife says.
“That’s how I met him,” she said. “He was my flight instructor. We’ve flown together and were married for 30 years.”

Friday, authorities found the wreckage from Monday’s accident.

Ocean rescue boat and crew dive teams from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were deployed five miles outside the port of Long Beach.

Authorities believe both planes took off from Long Beach Airport and crashed into each other about five miles outside the city’s port. The cause is under investigation.

Immediately after the crash, the Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation through a 150-square-mile area. That search was called off Tuesday and officials began a recovery effort.

On Wednesday, sheriff dive teams found the wreckage from one of the planes submerged 80 feet below the surface. The following day, dive teams found the body of one of the victims in the crash, according to a statement from the department.

The cause of death is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

For more information regarding this article please contact:

Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com