Latest news with #RV-10
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘The plane keeps turning on me': Audio released from deadly Simi Valley plane crash
Newly released audio captured the last communication between a pilot and air traffic control moments before a plane crashed into a Simi Valley neighborhood, killing two people and a dog. It was just before 2 p.m. on Saturday when a small plane crashed into two houses in the Wood Ranch community, killing the people and animal on board while spreading fire and destruction to nearby homes. Some pilots suspected weather may have been a factor, and while it's too early to tell what exactly went wrong, the newly surfaced recording will help investigators. 'I need vectors,' the pilot is heard saying in the audio from Live ATC. 'The plane keeps turning on me.' '626 Bravo,' the air traffic controller replies. 'You're coming and broken and unreadable.' The controller tried twice more to make contact, but then the radio went silent. Filmed soon after, nearby Ring security footage captured a slim view of the plane crashing into the side of two homes, erupting into destruction with a loud bang. Residents were inside the homes at the time, but were able to evacuate before the flames broke out. 'Something was off because he was just hitting the gas on and off and going in circles very, very low,' said Arnaldo Gonzalez, a Simi Valley resident. Elderly man crashes into Jennifer Aniston's L.A. property while she's home: report KTLA's Jennifer McGraw spoke with neighbors and witnesses on Monday, hearing that the plane was registered to Paul Berkovitz, a pilot who rescued dogs with his plane, and that the dog involved in the crash was possibly one of those rescued. In addition, although officials have not released or confirmed the victims' identities, several social media posts suggested Berkovitz was the pilot on board. Berkovitz was the owner and builder of the Van's RV-10 kit plane that the FAA said crashed into the Simi Valley homes. 'A Vans RV-10 crashed near High Meadow Street and Wood Ranch Parkway in Simi Valley, California, around 2:10 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 3,' explained the FAA in a statement. 'The plane departed from William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster and was heading to Camarillo Airport. The FAA and NTSB will investigate.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Airplane crash in Simi Valley puts spotlight on the safety of popular kit-built aircraft
Residents in Simi Valley thought the small aircraft circling over the neighborhood on Saturday was part of an air show. The plane appeared to fly erratically, drawing closer and closer to the ground. Then there was the loud boom as the kit-built plane clipped a home on High Meadow Street in the Wood Ranch neighborhood. Two passengers and a dog aboard the plane died at the scene, according to authorities. The fatal crash, the second in five months involving that model aircraft, puts a spotlight on such experimental and amateur kit-built aircraft, their rate of accidents and the overall process to win regulatory approval to fly the planes with passengers aboard. There are roughly 30,000 amateur-built planes currently certified in the U.S., according to experimental aircraft enthusiasts. The total number of registered airworthy aircraft has tripled since the 1980s, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Nailing down an exact number of such planes in use is a moving target as the database for keeping track of new registered planes and older planes falling out of use is not always up to date. Kit planes are increasingly popular because they are much less expensive than factory-built aircraft, according to enthusiasts, and give the community a sense of customizing their own route to the skies. The FAA said the single-engine Vans RV-10, a fixed-wing airplane, departed from Lancaster en route to Camarillo on Saturday. The FAA's website shows the plane was registered to Paul Berkovitz of Westlake Village. Medical examiners haven't released the names of the two individuals who died in the crash. Berkovitz is listed as the former owner of Camp Bow Wow Agoura Hills and Bow Wow Bungalow in Burbank. He shared on social media that he is passionate about supporting animals in overcrowded shelters and would fly dogs from shelters to new homes for a nonprofit called Pilot N Paws. 'It is the most gratifying flying you'll ever do as a pilot,' he told Pet Vet Sales, a pet business broker and consulting firm. The firm also noted that Berkovitz enjoyed flying his amateur built RV-10 plane, the same type that crashed in Simi Valley. Read more: Pilot's door was open moments before Fullerton plane crash that killed 2 and injured 19, investigators say Shortly before the crash, the control tower at Camarillo Airport tried to contact the pilot. He didn't immediately respond and when he did speak his words were garbled. Finally, his voice came in clear as he said, "I need some vectors. The plane keeps turning on me." The air traffic controller repeatedly asked the pilot to provide his altitude, according to audio posted to LiveATC, but there was no clear response. "You are radar contact lost," the traffic controller said, meaning the tower was no longer receiving the surveillance data used to determine the aircraft's position. Authorities have not released the identities of the pilot or his passenger. The official cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency tasked with investigating airplane accidents and crashes. A preliminary report will be issued in the next 30 days and a final report will likely be released in the next one to two years, according to an agency spokesperson. While there remain many unknowns about the crash, officials have confirmed the plane was an experimental or amateur kit-built aircraft. About 1,000 kit-built planes are deemed air worthy every year by the FAA, according to a spokesperson from the Experimental Aircraft Association, an international organization of aviation enthusiasts. In the period from October to May, there were fewer fatal accidents involving experimental category and amateur-buit aircraft than in the same period last year, 12 versus 18, according to available data from the FAA. The Vans RV-10 that crashed into Simi Valley on Saturday is the same model of plane that crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton on Jan. 2, killing the pilot, his 16-year-old daughter and injuring 19 people on the ground. The company that sells the kit plane, Van's Aircraft, is based in Aurora, Ore. Read more: California helicopter business sold used parts as new, risking customers' lives, indictment says Prior to the January crash, the experimental category saw a decrease of about 25% in fatal accidents compared to a decade ago, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association. From 2005-2014, there were 527 fatal accidents in the home-built category versus 329 from 2015-2024, according to available data. According to the FAA, an amateur-built aircraft meets the definition if more than 51% of the plane is fabricated and assembled by an individual or a group for educational or recreational purposes. Some enthusiasts choose to purchase kits with plane parts already fabricated and others opt to purchase or manufacture their own parts and assemble them. Often times, these home-built planes are assembled in home garages for anywhere between $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the types of aircraft a hobbyist wants to fly, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association. An FAA inspector or certified inspector will then meticulously go through the builder's log of when the parts were assembled and how long it took. The builder will need to compile photos and a timeline showing how the plane was put together. Afterwards, a pilot must complete between 25 and 40 hours of test flights over unpopulated areas to make sure that all the parts work properly, according to Experimental Aircraft Association guidelines. Only after that phase is complete can a pilot bring along passengers. The Vans RV-10 is one of the most commonly used and sophisticated kits available on the market, EAA vice president Sean Elliott said earlier this year following the January crash. "They make up the bulk of the recreational fleet of amateur-built aircraft and they provide a lot of support for their their builders and their their pilots," Elliott said. Following Saturday's crash, EAA spokesperson Dick Knapinski cautioned that each airplane crash has to be looked at as its own unique incident. "As with motor vehicle accidents, the causes of those mishaps 50 or 100 or 1,000 miles apart from one another almost mostly have completely different circumstances involved," he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Airplane crash in Simi Valley puts spotlight on the safety of popular kit-built aircraft
Residents in Simi Valley thought the small aircraft circling over the neighborhood on Saturday was part of an air show. The plane appeared to fly erratically, drawing closer and closer to the ground. Then there was the loud boom as the kit-built plane clipped a home on High Meadow Street in the Wood Ranch neighborhood. Two passengers and a dog aboard the plane died at the scene, according to authorities. The fatal crash, the second in five months involving that model aircraft, puts a spotlight on such experimental and amateur kit-built aircraft, their rate of accidents and the overall process to win regulatory approval to fly the planes with passengers aboard. There are roughly 30,000 amateur-built planes currently certified in the U.S., according to experimental aircraft enthusiasts. The total number of registered airworthy aircraft has tripled since the 1980s, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Nailing down an exact number of such planes in use is a moving target as the database for keeping track of new registered planes and older planes falling out of use is not always up to date. Kit planes are increasingly popular because they are much less expensive than factory-built aircraft, according to enthusiasts, and give the community a sense of customizing their own route to the skies. The FAA said the single-engine Vans RV-10, a fixed-wing airplane, departed from Lancaster en route to Camarillo on Saturday. The FAA's website shows the plane was registered to Paul Berkovitz of Westlake Village. Medical examiners haven't released the names of the two individuals who died in the crash. Berkovitz is listed as the former owner of Camp Bow Wow Agoura Hills and Bow Wow Bungalow in Burbank. He shared on social media that he is passionate about supporting animals in overcrowded shelters and would fly dogs from shelters to new homes for a nonprofit called Pilot N Paws. 'It is the most gratifying flying you'll ever do as a pilot,' he told Pet Vet Sales, a pet business broker and consulting firm. He explained that he enjoys flying his amateur built RV-10 plane, the same type that crashed in Simi Valley. Shortly before the crash, the control tower at Camarillo Airport tried to contact the pilot. He didn't immediately respond and when he did speak his words were garbled. Finally, his voice came in clear as he said, 'I need some vectors. The plane keeps turning on me.' The air traffic controller repeatedly asked the pilot to provide his altitude, according to audio posted to LiveATC, but there was no clear response. 'You are radar contact lost,' the traffic controller said, meaning the tower was no longer receiving the surveillance data used to determine the aircraft's position. Authorities have not released the identities of the pilot or his passenger. The official cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency tasked with investigating airplane accidents and crashes. A preliminary report will be issued in the next 30 days and a final report will likely be released in the next one to two years, according to an agency spokesperson. While there remain many unknowns about the crash, officials have confirmed the plane was an experimental or amateur kit-built aircraft. About 1,000 kit-built planes are deemed air worthy every year by the FAA, according to a spokesperson from the Experimental Aircraft Association, an international organization of aviation enthusiasts. In the period from October to May, there were fewer fatal accidents involving experimental category and amateur-buit aircraft than in the same period last year, 12 versus 18, according to available data from the FAA. The Vans RV-10 that crashed into Simi Valley on Saturday is the same model of plane that crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton on Jan. 2, killing the pilot, his 16-year-old daughter and injuring 19 people on the ground. The company that sells the kit plane, Van's Aircraft, is based in Aurora, Ore. Prior to the January crash, the experimental category saw a decrease of about 25% in fatal accidents compared to a decade ago, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association. From 2005-2014, there were 527 fatal accidents in the home-built category versus 329 from 2015-2024, according to available data. According to the FAA, an amateur-built aircraft meets the definition if more than 51% of the plane is fabricated and assembled by an individual or a group for educational or recreational purposes. Some enthusiasts choose to purchase kits with plane parts already fabricated and others opt to purchase or manufacture their own parts and assemble them. Often times, these home-built planes are assembled in home garages for anywhere between $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the types of aircraft a hobbyist wants to fly, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association. An FAA inspector or certified inspector will then meticulously go through the builder's log of when the parts were assembled and how long it took. The builder will need to compile photos and a timeline showing how the plane was put together. Afterwards, a pilot must complete between 25 and 40 hours of test flights over unpopulated areas to make sure that all the parts work properly, according to Experimental Aircraft Association guidelines. Only after that phase is complete can a pilot bring along passengers. The Vans RV-10 is one of the most commonly used and sophisticated kits available on the market, EAA vice president Sean Elliott said earlier this year following the January crash. 'They make up the bulk of the recreational fleet of amateur-built aircraft and they provide a lot of support for their their builders and their their pilots,' Elliott said. Following Saturday's crash, EAA spokesperson Dick Knapinski cautioned that each airplane crash has to be looked at as its own unique incident. 'As with motor vehicle accidents, the causes of those mishaps 50 or 100 or 1,000 miles apart from one another almost mostly have completely different circumstances involved,' he said.
Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Small Plane Crashes Into Los Angeles-Area Neighborhood, Killing 2 People and a Dog
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—A small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley on Saturday afternoon, killing two people and a dog aboard the aircraft and damaging two homes, authorities said. Fire crews responded, and police cordoned off the streets, warning people to stay clear of the area. Smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of one home in the Wood Ranch section of the community, which lies nearly 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Wreckage could be seen between the two homes. The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that residents were inside at the time but said they evacuated with no reported injuries. Both homes sustained structural damage and were impacted by the fire, authorities said. About 40 firefighters were on scene. With the flames out, they began working on salvage. Officials initially reported one death. Later Saturday, the Simi Valley Police Department said the pilot, a passenger and a dog in the airplane died. As of Sunday, authorities had not released any information about the occupants of the single-engine Van's RV-10, which is a popular home-built plane sold in kit form. They also did not say what might have caused the crash. Related Stories 4/26/2025 4/24/2025 The plane crashed into the backyard and dining room of Arman Hovakemian's home. Hovakemian told the Los Angeles Times that he was doing yard work when he noticed the plane above, circling lower and lower in the hillside neighborhood. He ran inside to get his wife, Armineh, and their Pomeranian dog, Koko, and they fled the property. A loud bang followed and the fuselage landed where he had been standing in the yard just moments before, he said. 'I'm numb. It hasn't sunk in yet,' Hovakemian said Saturday as dozens of firefighters and police officers surrounded his home. 'We're fortunate we were able to get out.' In security video recorded by a neighbor that was viewed by the Times, the plane can be heard circling the neighborhood for nearly three minutes and flying close to homes at points. In another video, the plane can be seen shooting straight up into the clouds then dropping down again. An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board also was on the scene Saturday. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said once the wreckage of the plane is documented, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation. Investigators also will be combing through the plane's maintenance records, weather forecasts, recordings of any air traffic control communications, witness statements, the pilot's background and any surveillance video that might have captured the aircraft. In January another Van's RV-10 crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton, which is southeast of Los Angeles, while trying to make an emergency landing, killing the pilot and his teen daughter and injuring 19 people in the building. A preliminary report issued by the NTSB said that plane appeared to have had a door ajar during flight. It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later.
Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- Epoch Times
Small Plane Crashes Into Los Angeles-Area Neighborhood, Killing 1 Person
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—A small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley on Saturday afternoon, killing a person aboard the aircraft and damaging two homes, authorities said. Fire crews responded, and police cordoned off the streets, warning people to stay clear of the area. Smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of one home in the Wood Ranch section of the community, which lies nearly 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Wreckage could be seen between the two homes. The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that residents were inside at the time but said they evacuated with no reported injuries. Both homes sustained structural damage and were impacted by the fire, authorities said. About 40 firefighters were on scene. With the flames out, they began working on salvage. Authorities did not release any information about the pilot of the single-engine Van's RV-10, which is a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. They also did not say what might have caused the crash. An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board also was on the scene Saturday. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said once the wreckage of the plane is documented, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation. Related Stories 4/26/2025 4/24/2025 Investigators also will be combing through the plane's maintenance records, weather forecasts, recordings of any air traffic control communications, witness statements, the pilot's background and any surveillance video that might have captured the aircraft. In January another Van's RV-10 crashed into a warehouse in Fullerton, which is southeast of Los Angeles, while trying to make an emergency landing, killing the pilot and his teen daughter and injuring 19 people in the building. A preliminary report issued by the NTSB said that plane appeared to have had a door ajar during flight. It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later.
