Latest news with #VansRV-10
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.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 people, a dog dead after small plane crashes in Los Angeles-area neighborhood
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) — Two people and a dog are dead after the small plane they were flying in crashed in a Los Angeles-area neighborhood on Saturday. At around 1:51 p.m., about 40 firefighters responded to calls that a plane had crashed into two homes with smoke showing in the Wood Ranch community of Simi Valley, officials confirmed. The Simi Valley Police Department issued an alert at 2:40 p.m., telling the public that a plane crash near High Meadow Street had closed the road, warning residents to avoid the area. The Ventura County Fire Department posted to X after 4 p.m., saying that preliminary reports indicated one fatality in the aircraft. At 8 p.m., VCFD confirmed two people were killed in the crash — the pilot and a passenger — along with a dog. '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.' The stringer service KNN spoke with a homeowner who said he was trimming vegetation around his home when he spotted the plane, describing it as possibly disoriented or in distress. 'He went to tell his wife about it, and the plane plummeted and slammed into the exact location where he was trimming vegetation,' KNN reported. 'The man narrowly escaped death when the plane hit and his home erupted in flames.' Brink's truck drops $300K on street; driver claims 50–100 people grabbed cash and fled Officials said the fire spread to two two-story, single-family homes, and that residents were inside at the time of the crash. However, they were able to evacuate, and VCFD said no other injuries were reported, but the homes sustained structural damage. The deceased victims' identities were not immediately provided. VCFD said the fire was knocked down as of 4 p.m. It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later, according to the Associated Press. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
04-05-2025
- USA Today
2 people dead in Simi Valley small plane crash, officials say
2 people dead in Simi Valley small plane crash, officials say LOS ANGELES − Two people were killed on when a small plane crashed into homes in a Simi Valley neighborhood, northwest of Los Angeles on May 3. The plane struck two homes in the Wood Ranch neighborhood of the suburb just before 2 p.m. PT Saturday, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. The department said in a statement posted to Facebook that the two unnamed occupants of the plane were killed in the crash. Residents, who were home at the time of the crash, were unharmed. The Federal Aviation Administration told USA TODAY in a May 4 statement that the Vans RV-10 departed from William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster and was heading to Camarillo Airport. The Ventura County Star − a part of the USA TODAY Network − reported that initial callers indicated that a hillside was on fire along with a plane. Firefighters subsequently arrived and reported a plane into a structure with smoke showing, radio traffic indicated. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the crash.
The Hill
04-05-2025
- General
- The Hill
2 people, a dog dead after small plane crashes in Los Angeles-area neighborhood
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) — Two people and a dog are dead after the small plane they were flying in crashed in a Los Angeles-area neighborhood on Saturday. At around 1:51 p.m., about 40 firefighters responded to calls that a plane had crashed into two homes with smoke showing in the Wood Ranch community of Simi Valley, officials confirmed. The Simi Valley Police Department issued an alert at 2:40 p.m., telling the public that a plane crash near High Meadow Street had closed the road, warning residents to avoid the area. The Ventura County Fire Department posted to X after 4 p.m., saying that preliminary reports indicated one fatality in the aircraft. At 8 p.m., VCFD confirmed two people were killed in the crash — the pilot and a passenger — along with a dog. '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.' The stringer service KNN spoke with a homeowner who said he was trimming vegetation around his home when he spotted the plane, describing it as possibly disoriented or in distress. 'He went to tell his wife about it, and the plane plummeted and slammed into the exact location where he was trimming vegetation,' KNN reported. 'The man narrowly escaped death when the plane hit and his home erupted in flames.' Officials said the fire spread to two two-story, single-family homes, and that residents were inside at the time of the crash. However, they were able to evacuate, and VCFD said no other injuries were reported, but the homes sustained structural damage. The deceased victims' identities were not immediately provided. VCFD said the fire was knocked down as of 4 p.m. It will likely be weeks before the NTSB releases preliminary findings on the Simi Valley crash. A final report comes months later, according to the Associated Press.
