Long Beach resident James Bechler was identified yesterday as the sole fatality of a fiery helicopter crash at Corona Municipal Airport late Sunday night.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that the main rotor of 61 year-old Bechler’s four-seat Robinson R-44 helicopter struck a metal canopy above the airport’s refueling pumps at around 11:08PM Sunday. There were no eyewitnesses to the crash, which photos reveal left only the aircraft’s charred shell, and the National Transportation Safety Board has not yet issued its preliminary report on circumstances surrounding the accident.
State Bar of California records indicate that Bechler was a business law attorney with offices listed in Santa Ana. The P-E says that helicopter was registered to the law corporation of James C. Bechler in Las Vegas.