New Pilot, Instructor Die in Ultralight Crash
A Yorba Linda man on his first ultralight flying lesson and his instructor died when their craft nose-dived into a field about a mile outside of a Perris airport, authorities said Monday.
Toward the end of his one-hour lesson Saturday morning, Eric Allan, 31, was making a turn when “the wing dipped and the plane went down,” said Wayne Kunze, manager of the Perris Valley Ultralight Airpark, where the aircraft took off.
Allan and Brian Love, a 41-year-old instructor with more than 400 hours of experience on the two-seat Quicksilver, died on impact, Perris police said. The crash remains under investigation, authorities said.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the craft spin out of control about 150 to 200 feet from the ground and then plunge into the field about 9:30 a.m., said Police Sgt. Paula Burch. Officials described the weather as mild and there were no preliminary signs of mechanical failure.
Allan’s family in Arizona could not be reached for comment.
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