Sucks that this was an Angel flight mission.


"John Doe" wrote in message
news:BorRf.54767$Dh.37501@dukeread04...
Ex-Game Show Host, Wife Die in Plane Crash

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Mar 13, 2006 (AP)- A former TV game show host and his
wife were killed Monday morning when their small plane crashed into Santa
Monica Bay, authorities said. Rescue crews were searching for a third
person also aboard the plane.

The bodies of Peter Tomarken, 63, host of the hit 1980s game show "Press
Your Luck," and his wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 41, were identified
by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The plane was on its way to San Diego to ferry a medical patient to the
UCLA Medical Center, said Doug Griffith, a spokesman for Angel Flight
West, a nonprofit which provides free air transportation for needy
patients.

Griffith said the pilot was a volunteer for the group. According to the
FAA, the plane was registered to Tomarken and he was the pilot.

The plane apparently had engine trouble and was headed back to Santa
Monica Airport, located about two miles inland, but went down about 9:35
a.m. just off shore, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen
Kenitzer.

Rescue boats and divers searching for the third person believed to be
aboard the plane were clustered about a half-mile southwest of the Santa
Monica Pier where the plane went down in about 19 feet of water.

Luis Garr said he didn't hear the engine but heard the splash as the plane
"kind of landed into the water."

"It's a big splash, a huge splash. . Then it started going down," Garr
said. "The wings were still floating so I was, `Get out! Get out!' because
the door was still available to get out and nobody came out. So the plane
kept going down, down, down."

Tomarken's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

"Press Your Luck" was known for contestants shouting the slogan "Big
bucks! No whammies!"

Tomarken's agent, Fred Wostbrock, said his client's first game show was
"Hit Man!," which ran 13 weeks on NBC, followed by the four-year hit
"Press Your Luck" on CBS. He also was on "Bargain Hunters," "Wipe-Out" and
"Paranoia."

"He was always a fun guy to be around, and he just loved the genre of game
shows," Wostbrock said.


Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.