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On March 14, 2009, a single engine 1979 Piper Cherokee PA-28 N129AB departed at 11:12am from La Verne Brackett Airport headed to Mojave, the plane crashed shortly thereafter at 11:15am in Pomona. 
Airplane was registered to San Dimas based Netsense, Inc. Charles and Renee Shaffer of La Verne and both are pilots. Charles "Chuck" Shaffer is an intrument rated pilot. (La Verne residents, husband and wife, members of Skylarks Flying Club of So Cal on their way to a monthly lunch outing along with 4 other airplanes in the club to Rosamond) were killed upon impact into a hillside in Pomona East of the 57, South of Pomona Blvd. Impact site and radar info point to a high speed impact. Debris appeared to be from the West. Flight plan and last radar contact show the plane traveling East. Last radar contact shows it descending at a high rate of speed. Just before the crash, Gary Wilt said radio traffic advised the plane, to "Pull up, terrain, level your wings." Limited visibility due to low clouds was noted in the area by the Fire Dept. The airplane was flying under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). Previous photos of the airplanes instrument panel showed that it had updated avionics with 2 GPS's installed. NTSB and FAA to investigate.UPDATE 3/15/09: NTSB and FAA concluded their onsite investigation on 3/14/09 and the NTSB will likely arrange to remove the wreckage on Monday. No probable cause has been released. The crash victims could not be positively identified due to the condition of their bodies, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.
UPDATE 3/17/09: Memorial set for this weekend. Details are still being arranged. Survived by Gillian (shown in photo above), Meleisa, Charles, Jeremy, Joshua, and one grandchild, Charles.
UPDATE 3/20/09: Services for Charles and Renee Shaffer of La Verne will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 22nd at Glendora Community Church, 645 N. Grand Ave. No dark attire please.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the La Verne chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles Program.
Below is the flight tracking log of N129AB. 
Flight Track with the Crash Site Location.
 Photo of plane crash site in Pomona on 3/14/09
Map of plane crash in Pomona
View Larger Map
 Crash Site is also known locally as "Elephant Hill". View looking South from San Dimas
Audio from FAA's spokesman Ian Gregor
If you are interested in the last crash that happened in San Dimas, CA, click here to view the article. Fortunately, it was a non-fatal accident in 2008 with a Piper PA-23 160. Includes audio from the tower, airplane and 911 call.
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Southern California TRACON
