March 13, 2006
luck pressed
3/13/06
I'm not one to talk about local news much - the goings-on of your average day in NYC or LA are frequently too gruesome to recount, and the local news in North Carolina usually has the "what you don't know about stucco ceilings may kill you" kind of vibe - but a 6-seater plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 200 yards from our little bungalow this morning, and it turned out to be a bigger deal than we expected.
The plane was a "Bonanza"-type aircraft, and it was trying to make its way back to the Santa Monica Airport - a tiny airstrip just on the other side of our hill. Something catastrophic happened with the li'l guy, because it hit the water right in full view of our street at about a 20-degree angle and then sank about fifteen feet.
We went to take a look after the Coast Guard brought it to the surface with airbags and dragged it away from high tide, and I snapped a few pics:
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Then we got home, and it was all over the internet (watch the videos) and even on Yahoo's national most-emailed list. Two people had died: game show host Peter Tomarken and his wife. You'll know him as the host of "Press Your Luck," where you'd spin the electronic board and scream "NO WHAMMIES!"
Tessa had never seen an episode of "Press Your Luck," so imagine me trying to explain what the "whammies" were. Like a character that, um, dressed as a woman sometimes, in a cartoon, that like, wiggled across the screen and took all your money. Finally, I found this page with a ton of pics and videos to give her the general idea. I had forgotten how unbelievably '80s that show really was, and how Peter Tomarken kept things funny without dipping to the show's cruel cheesiness.
Anyway, Tomarken and his wife were flying to San Diego on an "angel" mission to pick up someone who needed cancer treatment here in Los Angeles. Two things struck me: his plane was roughly the same size my brother Steve flies all the time, so Steve - please be careful, dammit.
The other is this: hats off and raise a glass to Peter Tomarken, who was obviously one of the good guys. God speed, Mr. And Mrs. Tomarken, and wherever you may be going, may the Whammy never get you.
Damn. I hadn't heard or read anything about that. I love "Press Your Luck" even though I'm not old enough to remember when it first aired. They show it on Game Show Network sometimes.
It's sad that something so awful could happen to two people who were just trying to help out someone else.
I loved me some "Press Your Luck" back in the 80s. To this day when I try get a control device or other software working, the first run I always mumble "big bucks, no whammies". A few colleagues will understand the reference, others will just nervously smile. Too bad they could not make it back to the airport.
Nice homage to Mr. Tomarken (LOVED that show and the WHAMMIES). What bad freakin' luck that he and his wife get dinged while performing such a selfless act.
Hate to fly, and HATE small planes. My old company had an 8 seater prop I often flew to Syracuse, always in the dead of winter. Not for me.
(a hangover from yesterday's comments)
rebecca, please keep your phantom community of fellow ian-readers posted on your little guy's condition -- if you have time and inclination, obviously. i hope the second biopsy yields good news. thanks to ian's blog, many people who've never met you are rooting for your son!
That's a bit shivery, to be so close to a tragedy.
A little over a year ago my hubby took up flying... kind of a late-midlife thing, I guess. I am flying-phobic, but I tried to get past my own anxiety and give him space to enjoy his new hobby. I'm never quite comfortable, though, until he returns home every Sunday from his weekly lesson. This underscores why.
P.S. to Tessa: I had never heard of "Press Your Luck" either!
wow i had not thought of that show in forever.
my little brother used to watch with us in his playpen in the living room when he was around 18 months old. he'd be in there jumping up and down yelling "big money! big money! no whammies!" and then if the person lost he'd go "Awwwwwww" right along with the (canned?) studio audience track.
it was kind of a guilty pleasure at the time and i remember trying to chalk it up to the fact that we were overseas and desperate for some US TV, but the truth is, that show was hella fun, goofy as it was. it's sad that peter didn't get a chance to remake the show, that would have been cool.
i also remember watching these as a kid: card sharks, joker's wild, wheel of fortune when you used to go shopping for prizes on the rotating center thing, price is right, match game, $20,000 pyramid (or was it more $$$?).
The Bonanza has three times as many seats as my Yankee and weighs about three times as much fully loaded. But, yes, it's much closer to my plane than and airliner.
One news story says the pilot reported an engine failure and tried to return to Santa Monica after takeoff.
If the engine failure were the only problem, it would have been possible to make a survivable landing, even in the water. Either there was another problem with the plane, or the pilot didn't do a good job--entirely understandable, given the stress of the situation.
Pilots practice this stuff all the time. The pilot personality helps us believe we've judged the risk and our ability to respond to unlikely problems so well that we'll survive.
We're sometimes wrong about what we can handle, just as drivers of autos are every day.
I read about this on Yahoo! this morning before I had a chance to read your blog and I was making a list of headlines the news reports would use to introduce the story.
I loved Press Your Luck. I was a morning kindergarten kid and when I came home, I turned this show on instead of cartoons. Absolutely loved it.
Having said that, small planes are scary and my husband flies in a Cessna everyday and it gives me something to worry about on a daily basis.
I actually witnessed a small plane crash once, twenty years ago and it's an eerie feeling. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we had to attend to the victims until proper help arrived. The accident we witnessed was a pilot doing something stupid (I'll include a link to the NTSB report) which makes makes Mr. Tormarken's 'air angels' flight even more significant, dying doing good. Kind like Roberto Clemente.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20010110X00123&key=1
Thanks for the nice blog entry and photos -- pretty sad stuff. That guy totally made my day as a little kid.
As a kid I also loved yelling "No whammies, no whammies, no whammies" along with this show.
Rebecca, I know I don't know you at all, but I have been thinking about you. I have a child (my youngest) with lots of medical issues and have been through the waiting game numerous times. I know how difficult it is and I hope that you get answers soon and no matter what the answer is that you get support and help through it. Keep us up to date.
Ian -- I heard you had lunch with a friend of mine today...I've been buggin her to let me tag along sometime. I'd love to meet you and Tessa.
Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and comments about Henry. It's not like we're waiting to find out if he has cancer or something, but it's a big deal to me. This is correctable, but it's a painful road to get there. So I will keep everyone posted.
You guys are awesome!
As a survivor of over 20 years of mil flying from carriers it always comes as a shock to see the aftermath of a class A.
The aircraft looks eeirly intact to me. Too bad they couldn't swim out. Must have been knocked unconcious on impact....
RIP.
B2
NTSB has published their preliminary report:
Points of interest:
- It appears the engine "threw a rod." There were holes in the engine crankcase. That would turn the aircraft into a glider, but it would not cause a loss of control.
- The aircraft was not equipped with shoulder harnesses, which can dramatically reduce injuries in forced landings.
- A witness reported the aircraft was descending at 30-40 degrees. That's an EXTREME angle of descent. An aircraft under control never flies at such a descent angle outside of an aerobatic performance. If that report is accurate, shoulder harnesses would make no difference.
- The weather was benign.
A forced landing under control would not look like a 30-40 degree descent. It would look like a normal, gradual descent to landing, touching down in the water around 80-90 mph. Rough, but perhaps survivable.
It sounds like the aircraft was not under control, but NTSB would have reported any mechanical problems they found that would contribute to a loss of control. It sounds like the pilot just didn't do a good job with the forced landing.