Deputy Dies in Compton Plane Crash
An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy died Saturday in a single-engine plane crash shortly after the experimental aircraft took off from Compton Airport, authorities said.
The deputy died when the private, single-seat aircraft crashed at 1:10 p.m. in an open field about 2 1/2 miles from the airport near Alondra Boulevard and McKinley Avenue, said Compton Police Lt. Al Smith. The crash sparked no fire, and no one else was hurt, Smith said.
The experimental aircraft, called a BD-5, apparently lost power shortly after taking off from the airport, said Eugene McPherson, the airport’s assistant manager.
McPherson said the high-performance aircraft has a rear propeller and resembles a narrow fuel tank with wings. “I understand the engine just stopped and these things do not glide very well,” McPherson said.
The Sheriff’s Department was investigating the crash.
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