Lancair Crashes In L.A. Street, Pilot Dead

A Lancair crashed in a busy Los Angeles intersection near Van Nuys Airport Friday afternoon, killing the 47-year-old pilot, identified as Alberto Behar, a flight instructor and scientist with connections to NASA, the Los Angeles Times reported. Behar was the only one on board when it crashed about 1:14 p.m. shortly after takeoff. No other injuries were reported. Beharwas a professor at Arizona State University and was part of NASA's Curiosity rover team exploring Mars.

"I can't see what would be the cause of something like this," Van Nuys pilot Kashif Khursheed told the Times. "He was very knowledgeable, competent and thorough." Beharwas an experienced pilot and instructor for airplanes and helicopters, and the weather was clear, the Times report said. Khursheed told the Times that in 2011, he and Behar were in an aircraft when it had engine trouble and they made an emergency landing on a Santa Clarita roadway. No one was hurt.