SANTA CLARITA : Student Copter Pilot Dies in Crash Near Theme Park
A 45-year-old student pilot who had taken off from Van Nuys Airport was killed when his helicopter crashed Friday afternoon for unknown reasons near Six Flags Magic Mountain, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 3:45 p.m. at the edge of a large plowed field west of the amusement park, said Lt. Bill Dunn of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station. The nose of the helicopter apparently struck a 10-foot hillside at high speed, strewing wreckage up to 100 yards away.
“Preliminarily, it appears as though he may have been practicing landing and he didn’t make it,” Dunn said. Officials at the scene said it was also possible the helicopter had engine failure.
The pilot’s name was not made public pending notification of next of kin, Dunn said. The aircraft took off from Pacific Shore Aviation, a helicopter instruction school in Van Nuys.
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