Glendale City Council agrees to accept $20,000 payment from James Roth, who crashed a plane into a neighborhood in 2012

Pilot agrees to pay $20K to Glendale for damages, expenses in 2012 plane crash
 
A man who crashed a Cessna plane into a Glendale neighborhood in 2012 has agreed to pay the city $20,000, according to a city announcement this week.

The City Council agreed during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to accept the payment as a settlement for a lawsuit it filed in January against the pilot, James Roth. Originally, the city had asked the court to award it $91,800.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Roth declined to comment.

Glendale sued Roth for property damage to a tree and power line he downed during the crash as well as the cost of fire and police response to the incident, according to court records. In a court filing, Roth denied he was responsible for the damages and public-safety costs.

Roth attempted to make an emergency landing around 9:10 p.m. on May 21, 2012, after he experienced a severe engine surge during his flight from Phoenix, Ariz. to Van Nuys, Calif., according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that investigates transportation accidents.

The 57-year-old Thousand Oaks resident tried to land the Cessna plane on a quiet Glendale street, but he did not see a power pole on the northwest corner of Cleveland and Glenwood roads until it was too late, according to the report.

His plane hit the pole, an oak tree and a vehicle, finally landing upside down in the frontyard of a nearby home.

The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to release a final report detailing the cause of the accident.

Roth is expected to pay the money out of his own pocket, said City Atty. Mike Garcia. Issues with his insurance coverage prompted city officials to wait more than a year and a half to file the lawsuit.

They first tried to work with Roth's insurance company, but it would not foot the damages bill because of a technical issue with the coverage.

Source:   http://www.glendalenewspress.com

NTSB Identification: WPR12FA222
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, May 21, 2012 in Glendale, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA P210N, registration: N732JL
Injuries: 1 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On May 21, 2012, about 2110 Pacific daylight time (PDT), a Cessna P210N, N732JL, impacted a power pole and tree during a forced landing, and came to rest inverted in the front yard of a residence near Glendale, California. The co-owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Phoenix, Arizona, about 1810 mountain standard time, with a planned destination of Van Nuys, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that while descending below 9,000 feet mean sea level (msl) he experienced a severe surging of the engine. He advised air traffic controllers that he had an emergency, and needed the closest airport. The controller advised the pilot that the nearest airport was El Monte airport (EMT), El Monte, California, which was located behind him and to the south. He was also told that Bob Hope Airport (BUR), Burbank, California, was in front of him. The pilot was familiar with BUR and felt it was his best choice to attempt to land at BUR.

As the pilot got closer to the airport, he determined he was not going to be able to land at the airport. He attempted to land on a quiet street but he did not see the power lines until it was too late.

The airplane impacted a telephone/power pole on the northwest corner of Cleveland Road and Glenwood Road in the city of Glendale. The airplane continued westbound hitting an oak tree and a vehicle. The airplane came to rest inverted in the front yard of a residence on Glenwood Road.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge responded to the scene and documented the accident site prior to the recovery of the airplane.

The debris field was approximately 120 feet in length from the first identified point of impact to the main wreckage.

The airplane was recovered for further examination.