According to Us Weekly, Erin Storm, a contestant on Season 12 of ABC's The Bachelor, died in a plane crash Monday. For those who don't recall, Storm appeared on Matt Grant's season, and was eliminated during the third week. He ended up giving Shayne Lamas the final rose. Per a report from NBC Los Angeles, a female pilot died in a fiery crash after takeoff at California's Hawthorne Municipal Airport. They did not release a name, but Us Weekly is reporting that Storm was the pilot. Update: E! News confirmed with the L.A. coroner watch commander that Storm was the one who died in the crash.
Earlier: An eyewitness, Byron Mayes from Best Drilling and Pump, Inc., who was working on tanks across from the airport, told NBC Los Angeles about watching the crash happen: "All of a sudden, my partner started yelling, 'Watch out, there's a plane coming!' and it looked like the plane veered up, lost control and hit a couple feet away from the truck, a couple feet away from us." Mayes also said that he and some other employees ran over to the plane and pulled Storm out, and her legs were reportedly on fire. "Our first thought was getting her out, making sure she was OK," he said.
According to Los Angeles County Fire officials, the pilot was in full cardiac arrest and did not survive the trip to a local trauma center. County fire Capt. Keith Mora confirmed that firefighters arrived on the scene and "extricated the unidentified woman from the wreckage."
Based on the pilot's blue jumpsuit, Mayes and other witnesses believe that she worked worked for Pacific Blue Air, a light-sport aircraft training facility at the Hawthorne Airport. Federal Aviation Administration officials also confirmed to NBC Los Angeles that the plane being flown was an Airborne XT-912.
Image: ABC
