Last Updated on July 14, 2017 by CCAR Staff
EL MONTE >> A pilot died Friday when his small plane crashed while taking off at the San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte.
The plane appeared to experience engine problems.
“Witnesses said somewhere between 100 feet to 200 feet off the ground, the (engine) noise ceased,” said Patrick Jones, air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Witnesses saw the plane making a left turn and “descend uncontrollably,” he said
Only the pilot was on board. The coroner’s office has not identified the man yet.
The crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. at the south end of the airport, 4233 Santa Anita Ave. Paramedics pronounced the pilot dead at the scene.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The plane — a single-engine, homebuilt, experimental Pazmany PL-2, according to Gregor — suffered extensive damage to its nose and left wing.
According to FAA records, the plane was built in 1979, and was registered to Progenitech, an Azusa-based company. The plane had an FAA certificate issued in 2014.
Jones said the experimental single engine plane is owned by a limited liability company. He believes the pilot is one of the operators. An experimental plane is not built by a manufacturer, such as Cessna, but typically by individuals.
“This accident could happen to any aircraft. We have witnesses reporting what appears to be a mechanical problem, and the pilot trying to return to the runway,” Jones said.
Contrary to an earlier report, the airport didn’t close. No flights were affected because the plane was grounded away from the runway and taxiway, according to Richard Smith, chief of Aviation Division for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. He said the airport averages about 150 takeoffs and landings per day.
Danny and Samantha Gallegos, who live nearby, heard the crash. Danny Gallegos said it sounded like metal hitting cement.
“It was loud. We thought it was a car crash,” wife Samantha Gallegos said.
Danny Gallegos said he’s lived near the airport for 17 years. In that time, he’d never witnessed a fatal plane crash.
Magdalena Cortes said she’s lived in El Monte for 49 years. For the past 19 years, home for her has been an apartment near the airport. The sound of helicopters, police cars and ambulances drew her attention Friday morning.
Cortes wondered what was going on when her neighbor told her a plane crashed.
“I’m surprised. Nothing has happened like this before,” she said.
Staff writer Joshua Cain contributed to this story.
