2 Killed When Home-Built Plane Crashes
Two people were killed Tuesday when their small, home-built airplane spiraled into a grassy field shortly after takeoff from Van Nuys Airport.
Witnesses said the single-engine plane appeared to lose power at about 500 feet, then stalled and spun into the field, where sod is grown commercially. The plane burned on impact.
“It looked like he lost power and stalled it trying to get back to the airport,” said witness Terry Kurtz, a ramp operator for California Aviation.
Wayne Clegg, a private pilot, said the plane stalled when the pilot tried to maintain too steep a climb while turning back toward the airport.
Identities of the two victims, a man and a woman, were not released immediately.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the 10:20 a.m. crash.
The plane, described by authorities as a two-seat experimental Glasair, is classified by the FAA as an experimental aircraft. It is sold in kits to small-plane enthusiasts, said Gregory Lyle, a spokesman for the plane’s manufacturer, Stoddard Hamilton Aircraft Inc. of Arlington, Wash. More than 600 planes have been sold since 1979, he added.
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