Plane Crashes Into Nev. House, Killing 3

Experimental Aircraft Goes Down After Takeoff, Causing N. Las Vegas Home To Erupt In Flames

(CBS/ AP)  An experimental aircraft crashed into a house shortly after takeoff Friday, killing the pilot and two people inside the home, authorities said.

The pilot of the home-built plane radioed that he was in trouble shortly after taking off from the North Las Vegas Airport, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Hawthorne, Calif.

"He said he was unable to gain altitude and was going down," Gregor said.

Firefighters quickly doused an intense fire in the single-family home in a neighborhood southeast of a main runway at the airport.

The pilot and one resident of the house died in the 6:28 a.m. crash, and another person in the house died after being taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, said a deputy fire chief, Kevin Brame.

The names of the dead were not immediately released.

Gregor characterized the rear-propeller Velocity 173 RG aircraft as "experimental," and said it can be built from a kit. FAA records showed the aircraft was certified for flight in 2002, he said, and was owned by a Las Vegas resident. The name of the owner was not released.

FAA inspectors are enroute to the scene, reports CBS affiliate KLAS-TV. They will be investigating the accident along with the NTSB.

North Las Vegas Airport is the second-busiest airport in Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the airport's Web site. It's a busy hub for small planes and jets, and serves as a base for sightseeing flights to the Grand Canyon and other attractions.

[ricfly52]

That is a bad way to wake up, with a airplane stuck into your head

[slim1h2o]

This article is proof that you do not want to live by the airport.

I hear things tend to fall out of the sky around those places.

[buttonjockey]

What''s ironic is that the Velocity has been one of the most crash free kit planes ever. Each one is certified at various stages of the construction process. My biggest complaint is that some people chose cheap engines that were not well suited.

[engineerguy8]

What I think is interesting about this situation is that Nasa tested a rocket today which apparently blew up and fell in the Atlantic ocean and "experimental" plane happened to crash into a house. That sounds a little fishy to me.

[barbaraf4]

Experimental aircraft have no business anywhere near residential areas. Send them all to Area 51.

[dagrandma]

Experimental airplanes should not be flown in populated areas. There are enough empty acres in America to keep these things away from the rest of us.

[lewiston14]

As a member of a radio remote airplane club when we have a new never flown craft it is looked at by several members with great building skills. Then it is allowed to fly but at the fare edge of the field away from the pits. Usually two flights. I only bring this up as we have turbine aircraft in the club also able to run the length of a football field in less then a second well of 200 MPH. I agree unproven craft do not belong in housed areas. Asl my ex boss who decided to buils a two person water aircraft and even took all the training. His first flight was his last. It crashed into the lake.

[octavianfdlr]

How many people died in (non-experimental) motor vehicle accidents today?

[lewiston14]

How many people died in (non-experimental) motor vehicle accidents today?

Posted by octavianfdlr

I WONT Argue that point. Even walking is a danger. Ask a woman and her kid that were walking across the street just up the road only to get killed by a speeding SUV

[haoli25]

North Las Vegas? Oh, no big loss.

[billc1947]

haoli.25. It would be a big loss if it was one of your relatives. What a jerk!!!!

[usclimey]

How many people died in (non-experimental) motor vehicle accidents today?

Posted by octavianfdlr

I bet very few died in their living rooms though.

[hurtmorons]

Planes crash all the time, how come people still get in them and expect NOT to crash? How come planes arent made out of the same stuff nerf footballs are made out of? That plane would have bounced off that house.

[andor3]

"Experimental airplanes should not be flown in populated areas"

all the "experimental" label means is that it was not produced by one of the big manufacturers. Most experimental planes are from kits so are well designed, proven, inspected. Most are safer than the beaters and 50 yr old general aviation fleet.

[toolmangler-2009]

Every time a craft leaves the ground, it''s an experiment. (Do I live this time or do I die?) Experimental planes must pass the same examinations that standard aircraft go through before they are licensed and allowed to take off to fly. Theres no such thing as ''Gravity'' the Earth sucks. what goes up usually comes down.

[dfwlexusguy]

Honestly though... How often do you hear of an experimental plane crash killing someone, versus hearing of a cessna, or a piper, md80 or boeing. Not often.

[marcpcbs]

I am an ex Air Force Jet Mechanic. The problem that I have seen is that there are too many retired lawyers, police or executives that think they can build a plane so they buy a kit and make thousands of mistakes.

The number of kit planes falling out of the sky''s is bigger than you might think.

[tootall10142]

what a terrible way to go.When i die i want to go like my grandfather in my sleep.Not screaming like the people in the back seat!