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Tucson Daily Citizen (Tucson Arizona) September 4, 1969 Page 10
Arizonans Killed in California
Plane Crash Fatal to Six
Blythe, Calif.(AP) Six persons on a trip from Arizona died Wednesday night after their private plane smashed into the desert, missing by one mile a runway unlighted because of a power blackout.
An electrical storm had knocked out power several hours earlier and workmen were still trying to restore lights at Riverside County Airport when the fiery crash occurred after sundown, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Sheriff's deputies identified the dead as David Perez, 21, and Benjamin Perez, 20, brothers from Tempe, Arizona; Millard Sumner, 58, Raul, Arizona, Elmer Sumner, 41, Phoenix; Ron Charles, 19, Phoenix and the pilot, Forrest Dockery, 53, Inglewood, California.
David Perez died about half an hour after he was taken to a hospital, officials said. The others died in the crash.
The crash occurred about one mile north of the runway at 8:15 pm and officials said the power failure could have had a bearing. The FAA began an official investigation.
The plane, a single engine Commanche, had taken off earlier in the day from Phoenix, officials said. An official at the scene shortly afterward said the plane virtually disintegrated amd partially burned.
Witnesses said the plane was making an approach for landing.
The men's plans in California were unknown to officials. The FAA said no flight plan had been filed but that none was required of small planes, so it wasn't unusual.
Power outages Wednesday evening also struck two other widely separated Southern California communities-a square mile of Compton and a 200-home area of Pacific Palasides.
Tucson Daily Citizen (Tucson Arizona) June 30, 1970 Page 17
Fatal Plane Crash Laid to Weather
An airplane crash near Blythe, California, that killed six people, five of them from Arizona, was caused by adverse weather conditions, the National Transportation Board said yesterday.
Killed in the crash were the pilot, Forrest Dockery, of Inglewood, Calif.; Millard Sumner of Roll; brothers David and Benjamin Perez, both of Tempe; and Elmer Sumner and Ronald Charles, both of Phoenix.
The transportation board said the plane crashed on September 3, 1969, while attempting to land by automobile lights becuase airport lights had been knocked out by a storm.
The board noted that Dockery was not an instrument-rated pilot and his pre-flight planning and preparations were inadequate
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