Pilot Leaps to Death; Passenger Also Dies
An aerobatic pilot whose plane developed engine trouble jumped to his death Wednesday evening as the aircraft plummeted nose-first into a field in Calabasas, killing a passenger.
The single-engine Marcheti SF-260 hit the ground and exploded in flames at about 5:15 p.m., witnesses and authorities said.
Witnesses said the pilot was practicing aerobatic stunts--flying upside down and loops--when the engine failed. The pilot restarted the engine and regained altitude, but it failed again, witnesses said.
Mark Erhardt, who lives about 200 yards from the crash site, said that as the plane dived toward earth, the pilot leaped out about 300 feet above the ground. “It was a frantic attempt to save himself,” Erhardt said.
He said the pilot landed about 20 feet from his craft and was killed on impact. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said the pilot’s identity could not be released and the passenger was burned beyond recognition.
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