Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

LAS VEGAS - An experimental aircraft crashed into a house shortly after takeoff Friday near a Las Vegas-area airport, killing the pilot and two people inside the home.

Authorities say the pilot of the home-built plane radioed that he was in trouble shortly after taking off from the North Las Vegas Airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the pilot said he was unable to gain altitude and was going down.

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

The pilot and one resident of the house died in the crash that happened at about 6:30 a.m., and another person in the house died after being taken to hospital.

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.

Gregor said FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were travelling to North Las Vegas to investigate the crash.

North Las Vegas Airport is the second-busiest airport in Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the airport's website. 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.