1954 fishing trip takes a turn when plane crashes at Riverside ball field – Press Enterprise

Robert Calhoon of Lakewood was piloting his bright red Stinson four-seat airplane on the evening of April 15, 1954, returning from a fishing trip in Mexico with two other men, Robert Browning and Tim Lennies. Calhoon planned to land at Long Beach Airport, but it was fogged in. He continued through the fog until he realized he was lost.

The plane eventually ended up over Riverside, although the pilot didn’t realize that was where he was. Calhoon circled the city, trying to find March Air Force Base, but was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the plane’s radio was dead and Calhoon couldn’t get guidance. Police Officer Danny Avila saw the plane circling and dipping low as if in search of a landing place, and realized it was in trouble. He called in reinforcements. He and other officers as well as the fire department tried to guide the plane, using their patrol cars and lights of fire trucks, to the Arlington Airport, what is now Riverside Municipal Airport.

Sgt. Bob McHale almost had the plane to the airport, but then the pilot lost sight of his car’s lights.

After more than an hour of circling Riverside, Calhoon had to bring the plane down because he was running out of fuel. He saw the bright lights of the Casa Blanca ball field, right next to the school on Madison Street and decided to land in an adjacent field.

While they may not have been able to talk to the pilot, the men on the ground could tell where the pilot was planning on landing and went to work. Officer Avila went to the ballpark to help guide the plane in.

Nearby residents Art Mendoza and Bob Flores saw the plane coming and ran onto the ball field to clear it, there were about 75 children there that night.

The plane landed, bounced once, and then headed for the Maldonado home at 7406 Emerald St., adjacent to the ball field. The pilot appeared to try and avoid the house, and hit a tree and garage instead. Mendoza and another resident, Tony Mejia, both Korean War veterans, rushed to the plane to help the passengers out in case it caught fire.

Fire trucks were on their way even before the plane landed, and immediately roped off the area and sprayed the plane with water to keep the gasoline from igniting. The crash attracted a large crowd and police officers and sheriff’s deputies held them back. They also had to make sure no one was smoking.

The plane was significantly damaged — one wing was ripped off. But the men inside suffered relatively minor injuries — two just had cuts and bruises and one suffered a broken arm.