Lancair Crashes on Busy Van Nuys Street

Pia Bergqvist

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 11:19 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

An experimental Lancair 320 crashed fatally for its pilot shortly after departing Van Nuys Airport on Friday, though no injuries were reported on the ground.
The single-engine aircraft, identified as N7ZL, came down at a busy intersection near the runway, with its cockpit area destroyed despite a minor fire.
The deceased pilot and owner was Alberto Behar, 47, a flight instructor who also worked as a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a research professor at Arizona State University.

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An experimental Lancair 320 crashed around 1:15 p.m. on Friday shortly after departing from Van Nuys Airport in Southern California, an FAA spokesman said.

The Lancair ended its short journey at the busy intersection of Hayvenhurst Ave. and Vanowen St., at the departure end of Runway 16R. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. Nobody on the ground was injured, but the pilot sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash.