Callahan & Blaine

Five people were killed when the twin-engine plane they were in crashed during take-off from Long Beach Municipal Airport, according to a news report.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the twin-engine Beechcraft King Air was headed for Salt Lake City, and was owned by local developer Thomas Fay Dean, the owner of most of the Los Cerritos Wetlands in southeast Long Beach.  A Long Beach Fire Department official said that six people were aboard the plane, and the lone survivor was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

The victims included a member of the city’s founding family, 44-year-old Long Beach real estate broker Mark Bixby; Long Beach real estate investor Thomas Fay Dean, 50; and his business partner Jeff Berger.  The unidentified pilot and a fifth victim were among the dead as well.  Long Beach real estate executive Mike Jensen, 51, remains in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

Eyewitnesses reported that the plane burst into fire shortly after take-off.  According to fire officials, the plane crash took place on the northwest portion of the airport, closing two of the airport’s five runways.  The cause of the crash is currently under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

If you or a loved one is involved in an accident that causes death or serious injury, call Callahan & Blaine, California’s Premier Litigation Firm. We are one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the state of California. In fact, in the last five years alone our lawyers have obtained over $1.2 billion in verdicts and settlements, including a record breaking $50 Million settlement against the City of Dana Point, which has been certified as the largest personal injury settlement in the history of the United States.  Callahan & Blaine has also recently obtained a $28 Million settlement for a driver who was hit by a runaway truck wheel on the freeway, a $7 million settlement for a bicyclist who was struck by a newspaper delivery truck, and a $7.25 million settlement for a man who was run over trying to board a city bus.

Our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.

If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, please contact our California law firm for expert legal counsel.