‘Climb the airplane,’ pilot told before California crash

By JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

SANTEE, Calif. (AP) — Before a twin-engine plane nose-dived into a San Diego suburb, an increasingly concerned air traffic controller warned the pilot to climb in altitude more than a half dozen times. The recording will be reviewed by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator who arrived Tuesday a day after the Cessna 340 smashed into a UPS van, killing the driver, and then igniting two houses in Santee. United Parcel Service of America Inc. held a moment of silence for Steve Krueger. The pilot, an Arizona doctor, also died, and an elderly couple on the ground were hurt.