By snoadmin
The lone survivor of the plane crash that killed five people at Long Beach Airport on Wednesday has been transported to the UC Irvine Regional Burn Center in Orange, but is expected to “be back in a month or so, tougher than ever,” according to an online journal tracking his medical progress.
Mike Jensen, president of Pacific Retail Partners, was originally rushed to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in critical condition.
The journal, at caringbridge.org/visit/mjensen/journal, is compiled from e-mail updates from Jensen’s family. According to the journal, Jensen, 51, has second-degree burns on his back and legs, making up 40 percent surface burn area in total.
A release from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office identified the five victims who died in the crash as pilot Kenneth Cruz, real estate associates Tom Dean and Jeff Berger, bicycle advocate Mark Bixby, and Bruce Krall, who was Dean’s banker.
The Daily 49er reported on Wednesday that the twin-engine plane, a Beechcraft King Air 200 that was owned by Dean, departed the airport at 10:30 a.m., headed for Salt Lake City.
It immediately turned back around for an unknown reason, according to Mario Rodriguez, director of the Long Beach Airport.
According to the Long Beach Post, the aircraft slammed into the ground and split apart before becoming engulfed in flames.
A candlelight vigil in memory of the victims and for Jensen was held Friday.
A public “Mark Bixby Celebration of Life” is tentatively planned for March 25 at 10 a.m. at the base of the peninsula on the bay beach, between Gondola Getaway and the U.S. Sailing Center.
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