Pilot dies when parachute malfunctions near Borrego airport

A pilot was killed Saturday when his parachute malfunctioned after ejecting from a home-built aerobatic plane that crashed north of the Borrego Valley Airport, authorities said.

Preliminary information indicated the small plane crashed under unknown circumstances about 12:30 p.m. during aerobatics, according to Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot died at the scene, according to sheriff’s officials and Cal Fire. His name was not immediately released.

The aircraft sustained substantial damage, Kenitzer said.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating, Kenitzer said. NTSB is the lead investigative agency.

A NTSB investigator usually posts a basic preliminary report on the agency’s website at ntsb.gov within a week or two of the crash, but it typically takes the NTSB months to come up with a probable cause for accidents, Kenitzer said.

According to the FAA registry, the fixed wing single-engine plane was owned by a San Diego man.

—City News Service