Experimental Aircraft Crashes in Lockwood Valley

  • This photo by Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy William Hollowell shows the experimental aircraft that landed on Boy Scout Road, north of Lockwood Valley Road on March 26 at about 5:25 p.m. The pilot and co-pilot said they were uninjured and were transported by a motorist to a restaurant in Lebec.

    This photo by Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy William Hollowell shows the experimental aircraft that landed on Boy Scout Road, north of Lockwood Valley Road on March 26 at about 5:25 p.m. The pilot and co-pilot said they were uninjured and were transported by a motorist to a restaurant in Lebec.

UPDATE-LOCKWOOD VALLEY (March 27, 2010, 10 a.m.)—Mountain Community resident Lori Hallmark reported Friday evening, March 26 at 6:10 p.m. that she saw what appeared to be a crashed homemade plane north of Lockwood Valley Road, on Boy Scout Camp Road. She said, "It doesn’t look like anyone was hurt."

Now Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy William Hollowell and Senior Deputy Ryan Clark report there was an emergency landing of an experimental airplane at that location about 5:25 p.m. by pilot and owner Richard Van Vleet of Ventura, California and his co-pilot Ralph Simon of Kahulu, Hawaii.

The Ventura County Sheriffs report that staff at the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Station responded and found an unoccupied, single engine experimental aircraft off the northbound shoulder of the roadway. The aircraft appeared to have sustained moderate damage consistent with an attempted landing on the roadway.

A passer-by stopped and told deputies that he had observed the aircraft go down on the roadway and collide with brush near the shoulder. The witness stopped for the pilot and co-pilot, who were exiting the aircraft and were uninjured. The pilots explained they lost engine power and attempted to land on the highway. The witness transported the pilots to a restaurant in Lebec.

During the investigation, deputies made contact with the pilot and confirmed the details of the emergency landing. Notifications were made to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), deputies said.
 

LOCKWOOD VALLEY (March 26, 2010, 9:30 p.m.)—Mountain Community resident Lori Hallmark reported this evening that at 6:10 p.m. she saw what appeared to be a crashed homemade plane on Boy Scout Camp Road in Lockwood Valley, north of Lockwood Valley Road. She said it "doesn’t look like anyone was hurt."

According to the Ventura County Star, the aircraft is registered to a Richard Van Vleet of Oxnard, according to a Web site run by the Federal Aviation Administration. A witness told Ventura County Sheriff deputies that he gave the pilot and co-pilot a ride and that both were unhurt in the crash landing. The witness said the aircraft went off the road while landing and ended up in some bushes. The aircraft’s landing gear and the front of the plane were reportedly damaged.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was notified of the crash landing about 5:20 p.m. The witness said the pilot told him there was a mechanical problem, which forced the aircraft’s landing.

“Federal law requires pilots to report accidents to the National Transportation Safety Board,” said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Ventura County Star reported.

This is part of the March 26, 2010 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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