Pilot Was Making Regular Visit to Ailing Wife in Oregon

Lewis T. Hassman, who died when his single-engine plane crashed into a Buena Park apartment complex Saturday, was making a regular trip to visit his wife, a stroke victim in an Oregon convalescent home, neighbors said.

The 64-year-old aeronautical engineer made the trip about twice a month, said neighbor Renee Bevington and her son, Steve. On Friday, Steve Bevington said, Hassman asked him to collect his mail and feed his cat .

Renee Bevington said Hassman’s wife suffered a stroke about two years ago and was placed in a nursing home in Orange County. Last spring, however, Hassman moved his wife to a home near Pendleton, Ore., where other members of his family live.

Bevington said Hassman usually visited his wife twice a month, taking commercial flights when the weather made it hazardous to fly himself, and stayed three to four days.

The Pendleton airport, Hassman’s destination, handles mostly private aircraft, averaging about 100 flights a day, said air traffic controller Frank Phillips.

“He truly enjoyed flying,” Renee Bevington said of the longtime Westminster resident. “He loved it.”

She said Hassman was a vigorous and very private man. He often left home at 5 a.m. in order to swim before going to work, she said.

This weekend, he had planned to join family members from Eureka, Calif., in Oregon.

Hassman has a daughter, Gloria Hassman, who lives in Garden Grove.

Times staff writer Bob Schwartz contributed to this story.