Crash Victim Identified as Air Force Flier

NORTHRIDGE — A pilot killed when his small airplane plummeted to earth on a busy San Fernando Valley street Sunday was an Air Force first lieutenant who also loved flying as a hobby, authorities said.

Coroner officials identified him Monday as Todd Kraska, 24, of Hermosa Beach.

“He had a lot of flying experience,” said Howard Antelis, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, where Kraska was based. “In fact, I was told it was his experience that allowed him to maneuver the plane so no one [on the ground] was hurt.”

Kraska had logged at least 700 hours of flying, said Valerie Arruda, an Air Force spokeswoman. He also flew gliders and was a glider instructor while at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In El Segundo, where he had been stationed for two years, Kraska worked as a systems engineer for the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), which provides strategic information to the Department of Defense.

The cause of the crash, which occurred about 1 p.m. Sunday in the 17300 block of Parthenia Street, has not been determined, said Sheryl Cook, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board. She said an investigation into the accident could take up to six months.

Kraska ran into trouble just a few minutes after he took off from Van Nuys Airport in the single-engine plane. He radioed “May Day! May Day! May Day!” according to investigators.

Witnesses said the plane was westbound but then banked hard, turning toward the airport before it nose-dived.

The plane hit the center of the four-lane street between Balboa and White Oak avenues, sliding 175 yards, according to police. The propeller, engine cowling and other parts were ripped from the fuselage as it slid down the street.

Witnesses also reported parts falling from the plane as it lost elevation and unusually loud engine noise. Pieces of the craft were “literally raining down on the neighborhood,” said NTSB investigator George Petterson.

There was no fire on impact and no one on the ground was injured, authorities said. No structures were hit.

Rescuers spent an hour cutting into the plane to retrieve Kraska, who appeared to have died on impact, according to authorities.

By Monday afternoon, Kraska’s mother in Texas and his father in Florida had been notified of their son’s death, Arruda said.