1 Dead After Small Plane Crashes on Runway at San Gabriel Valley Airport; Victim ID’d
Jeffrey "Cat" Ying, DEAD AT 63
Jeffrey began flying in 1981. His road to aviation included the creation of the first civilian aircraft designed and built in Taiwan. An avid pilot, Jeffrey's ratings include: multi-engine, instruments, rotorcraft, turbine, and is FAST Wing qualified. He recently became the first pilot of Chinese descent to fly around the world (in his single engine Piper PA 46 Malibu). Jeffrey has over 2,000 hours as a pilot. One of the most interesting aircraft that he has flown is a WW1 SE-5A. Jeffrey owns several aircraft including a French military Gazelle helicopter and a Yak 50.
Updated July 14, 2017
One person died after a home-built plane crashed at the San Gabriel Valley Airport Friday morning, officials said.
A crashed plane is seen at San Gabriel Valley Airport near El Monte on July 14, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
The single-engine Pazmany PL-2 crashed on airport property while departing from runway 19 around 9:30 a.m., said Ian Gregor, a public affairs manager for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot was declared dead once firefighters arrived on scene shortly after 9:30 a.m., according to Vanessa Lonzano with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The man was later identified by 63-year-old Jeffrey Ying by El Monte police.
Ying, member of a formation flying team called the Tiger Squadron, started flying in 1981, according to his biography on the group's website. He had flown more than 2,000 hours as a pilot, and recently completed a trip around the world.
Although firefighters initially indicated two people were on board when the plane went down, El Monte Police Lt. Ernie Cramer and Gregor said the pilot was traveling alone.
Multiple witnesses reported the craft's engine noise ceased after takeoff somewhere between 100 and 200 feet from the ground, said Patrick Jones with the National Transportation Safety Board.
"It looked like he was taking off -- it just didn't look like he got high enough," Kevin Ward, a witness, told KTLA. "I heard a snap, and then the plane jerked and then went straight down into the ground."
"The aircraft was observed making a left turn, left wing low, and the aircraft then descended uncontrollably, hitting the ground and coming to rest you see it now," Jones said.
Footage of the aftermath showed the plane's nose flattened from its smash into the runway pavement, with its tail still suspended in the air.
The plane likely went down because of a mechanical failure, according to Jones. Though investigators are still working to determine an official cause, he said the pilot's apparent attempt to turn around return to the runway was a notable departure from standard procedure.
FAA registry information showed the aircraft was built in 1979.
The plane was registered to an Azusa-based company named Progenitech and had a valid certificate issued in July 2014, according to FAA records.
Though the craft was considered "experimental" under FAA rules, since it was not built by a certificated company like Cessna or Beechcraft, Jones said he did not believe its construction played a role in the crash.
“This accident could happen to any aircraft because aerodynamics are all that was at play," he said. "We have witnesses reporting what appears to be a mechanical issue and the pilot attempting to return to the runway, which, aerodynamically, is not normal procedure.”
Jones' evaluation was in line with what witness Kevin Ward told KTLA.
“It looked like he was taking off, it just didn’t look like he got high enough," he said. "It almost looked like he was turning around to try to come back down.”
The San Gabriel Valley Airport is located on the 4000 block of Santa Anita Avenue, about one mile north of El Monte in an unincorporated area of L.A. County.
The FAA, NTSB and El Monte police were investigating the incident.
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The first Taiwanese pilot to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine airplane died on Friday after the small plane he was flying crashed at San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte, California, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Jeffrey Ying, 63, was the first pilot from the US’ Chinese-speaking community to fly around the world in a single-engine airplane in July 2010.
Ying, a Taiwanese expatriate, had been running a fleet of planes with his friends in the US, who also flew the aircraft annually for Double Ten National Day celebration events at Monterey Park in California since 2011, Chinese American Pilots and Aircraft Owners Association director James Bu said.
The crashed plane had a Republic of China national emblem painted on the fuselage and was similar to a decommissioned air force trainer aircraft.
The cause of the crash was likely related to mechanical problems, the ministry said, adding that it would provide Ying’s family whatever assistance it needed.
The Los Angeles Times said that Ying’s Pazmany PL-2 took off at about 9:30am, but crashed shortly afterward.
Video broadcast by local TV news outlets from the scene at a corner of the airport showed the aircraft’s nose flattened at an angle and its left wing crumpled.
Ying, who had more than 2,000 hours of flight experience, acquired the PL-2 many years ago, Bu said.
Ying remodeled the plane to look like a Taiwanese trainer and painted the code 5858 himself, Bu said.
In 2010, Ying and his wife, Renee Chen, took 82 days to fly 41,843km across 26 countries. Ying became the 166th person to accomplish the endeavor.
http://www.taipeitimes.com
Today,
Tiger Squadron mourns the loss of one of our fellow team members,
Jeffrey "Cat" Ying, who perished in a tragic accident while flying from
his home airport of KEMT. He will be remembered fondly for the kind and
generous man that he was and will be honored by those of us he left
behind in the Tiger Squadron.
"Just all of the sudden it did a quick jerk and nosedived straight down in the ground and spun around a little bit." said Kevin Ward, who was working nearby. He described the terrifying moment a single engine experimental plane fell from the sky shortly after takeoff.
"It seemed like he started turning early...towards us...and I don't know it looked like something broke on his steering." said Ward.
He called 9-1-1 and took a cell phone video of the moments before paramedics arrived.
The deadly crash happened around 9:30 am. National Transportation Safety Board investigators say witnesses heard the engine quit right before the crash.
The pilot died on impact. Authorities identified him as 63 year-old Jeffrey Ying, a business owner and experienced pilot who was also a member of the Elite Tiger Squadron Flying Team. The squadron performs at airshows and special events around the country.
Members posted a message on their Facebook page in remembrance of Ying calling him a kind and generous man.
According to his Tiger Squadron bio, Ying has logged more than 2,000 flying hours. He was also the first person of Chinese descent to fly around world in a single engine plane. Investigators will be looking into why Ying appeared to turn around when his plane apparently had mechanical issues.
"Pilots are taught that if they have a problem they need to land straight ahead...turning around can bleed off too much air speed and it increases your stall speed." said Patrick Jones,Air Safety Investigator with the NTSB.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was a "homebuilt, single-engine Pazmany PL-2" that crashed on airport property while departing from Runway 19 around 9:30 a.m. The pilot was the only person
on board, according to the FAA.
The airport was formerly known as El Monte Airport.
http://www.foxla.com
Jeffrey Ying
Taipei, July 15 (CNA) The first Taiwanese pilot to fly across the world on a single-engine airplane died Friday after the small plane he was operating crashed at San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte, Los Angeles, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Saturday.
The deceased is Jeffrey Ying, 63, the first pilot from the Chinese-speaking community to fly across the world on a single-engine airplane in July 2010.
Ying, a Taiwanese expat, had been running a fleet of planes with his friends in the U.S., who also had flown the aircraft annually to perform in Taiwan's National Day celebration events at Monterey Park since 2011, according to James Bu, head of the Chinese American Pilots and Aircraft Owners Assoc.
The crashed plane had a Republic of China (Taiwan) national emblem painted on the fuselage, and was similar to a decommissioned trainer of the country’s air force.
The cause of the crash was likely related to mechanical problems, the ministry said, adding that it will provide whatever assistance necessary for the victim’s family.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the single-engine Pazmany PL-2 began to depart from runway 19 at San Gabriel Valley Airport about 9:30 a.m. local time, but crashed shortly afterwards.
Video broadcast by local TV news outlets from the scene at a corner of the airport showed the aircraft’s nose flattened at an angle and its left wing crumpled.
Ying, who had more than 2,000 hours of flight experience, acquired the PL-2 which was similar to the model used in Taiwan’s air force, many years ago, Bu said.
Ying remodeled the plane to give it the looks of the Taiwanese trainer and painted its code 5858 on it by himself, Bu said.
In 2010, it took Ying and his wife Renee Chen 82 days to fly 26,000 miles across 26 countries in the world. Ying became the 166th person in history to accomplish that endeavor, according to Chinese-language newspaper United Daily News.
Ying had loved the idea of flying from an early age and had even built his own turboprop while he was still in vocational school in 1978, the newspaper said.
http://focustaiwan.tw
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Date: 14-JUL-2017
Time: 09:30 a.m.
Type: Pazmany PL-2
Owner/operator: Progenitech, LLC
Registration: N186EJ
C/n / msn: 186
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: El Monte-San Gabriel Valley Airport, CA (EMT/KEMT) -
United States of America Phase: Take off
Nature: Private
Departure airport: San Gabriel Valley (KEMT)
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The aircraft experienced a low altitude loss of engine power and near vertical impact with airport terrain shortly after takeoff. The pilot died in the crash.
Sources:
http://ktla.com/2017/07/14/small-plane-crashes-at-san-gabriel-valley-airport/
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-el-monte-plane-crash-20170714-story.html
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N186EJ
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000771426.html