2008 Cessna Compton crash

On April 12th, 2008, a Cessna 310 being flown by 71 year-old pilot Charles Reese crashed nose-first into a house in Compton, California, hospitalizing both the pilot and passenger, and two on the ground.

Flight

At approximately 03:05 p.m. PST, the Cessna 310 owned by Eureka International Inc. departed Montgomery Field Airport with a VFR flight plan filed for KHHR. The pilot and passenger were members of a flying club and were returning from a trip to San Diego.The aircraft had no contact with Socal Approach, John Wayne Tower, or Long Beach Tower during its flight north along the coast and eventually relatively close to the aforementioned airfields. The last radar return for N6231Q was at 3:42 p.m. PST, near Los Alamitos Army Airfield, indicating that at that time the aircraft descended below normal radar coverage.

Crash

Sometime from 15:50 to 15:55, the aircraft was on a final approach for either runway 25L or 25R at Compton Airport when it descended from about 300 feet onto the roof of a house. After the first strike, pilot Charles Reese climbed to avoid further damage, and within seconds descended again and crashed in an inverted nose-dive into the kitchen of a neighborhood house on West Cypress Street near Center Avenue, about 1000 feet from the runway.

Investigation

It was later noted by friends of the pilot that he was encountering engine difficulties sometime during the last minutes of the flight and decided to perform an emergency landing at Compton Airport. Because there was no fire after the crash and all individuals involved were not fatally wounded, it is understandable that the aircraft had minimal lift and speed before and during the impact. The names of two of the survivors were released by local news: Charles Reese the pilot, and Regina Hosley, who was in her kitchen with a friend when the Cessna crashed directly into it.

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