NTSB Identification: DCA12PA076
14 CFR Public Use
Accident occurred Friday, May 18, 2012 in Point Mugu, CA
Aircraft: HAWKER AIRCRAFT LTD HAWKER HUNTER MK.58A, registration: N329AX
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and obtained data from various sources to prepare this public aircraft accident report.
On May 18, 2012 at 1212 pacific standard time, a Hawker Hunter Mk 58, single-seat turbojet fighter type aircraft, registration N329AX, operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) under contract to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) crashed while on approach to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California (NTD). The sole occupant pilot aboard was killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces and fire. The pilot reported a fuel transfer problem prior to the accident. The flight was conducted under the provisions of a contract between ATAC and the U.S. Navy to provide ATAC owned and operated aircraft to support adversary and electronic warfare training with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101). The airplane was operating as a non-military public aircraft under the provisions of Title 49 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 40102 and 40125.
Photo by Anthony Plascencia
Emergency response personnel surround the wreckage of a Hawker Hunter, a single-seat fighter/ground attack monoplane. It crashed about 12:15 p.m. in a field off Broome Ranch Road between CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo and Point Mugu.
A Camarillo man was identified by coroner officials as the pilot who died in Friday's plane crash near Point Mugu, authorities said.
Thomas Bennett, 57, died on impact about 12:15 p.m. Friday afternoon after the plane went down about 1.5 miles away from the base, officials said.
An autopsy revealed Bennett died of blunt force injuries, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy Ventura County medical examiner. The manner was ruled an accident.
Bennett was piloting a Hawker Hunter jet that belonged to Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., a contractor for Naval Base Ventura County, officials said. The Virginia-based company helps conduct tactical exercises at Point Mugu, officials said.
Matt Bannon, spokesman for Airborne Tactical said Bennett was "more than likely" returning from an exercise.
Patrol units from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office remain on scene this afternoon as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the crash.
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Officials have confirmed that one person died in a crash today of a
former British military plane in an agricultural field near Point Mugu.
The downed plane was a Hawker Hunter, a single-seat fighter/ground attack monoplane. It crashed about 12:15 p.m. in a field off Broome Ranch Road between CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo and Point Mugu.
The Hawker Hunter jet belonged to Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., a contractor for Naval Base Ventura County, said Navy spokesman Vance Vasquez. The company's website says it operates the Mk-58 Hawker Hunter.
The company helps conduct tactical exercises at Point Mugu, officials said.
"These are ex-military planes that are used as adversary support ... they play the 'bad guys' during exercises," Vasquez said.
The plane was returning to Point Mugu when it crashed, officials said.
The cause of the crash was not yet known.
Witnesses said the plane appeared "obliterated," and its parts were scattered in the agricultural field over an area the size of a football field.
Various emergency and military personnel are on the scene. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on their way to the scene.
Authorities have closed Potrero Road east into Thousand Oaks. The plane reportedly had 2,000 pounds of fuel, and environmental officials have been called in for a cleanup.
A civilian training jet on contract to the military crashed in Southern California on Friday, killing the pilot, authorities said. The Hawker Hunter jet trainer had taken off from Naval Base Ventura County and crashed at about 12:15 p.m. near the base, just outside Camarillo, Ventura County fire department spokesman Steve Swindle said. The pilot was the only person aboard. Swindle did not know if the pilot was a civilian or a member of the military. Camarillo is about 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
A jet plane crashed about three miles southeast of
Camarillo Airport Friday as it was returning to Point Mugu during a
training exercise.
Officials with Naval Base Ventura County confirmed the plane is a Hawker Hunter contracted by the Navy from Airborne Tactical Advantage Company. The crash occurred in a field near Potrero Road and Old Hueneme Road, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
The crash was reported at about 12:15 p.m.
Military trainer jet crashes near Camarillo Airport
CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) -- A military-contracted civilian trainer jet crashed in a large field near Camarillo Airport in Ventura County on Friday afternoon.
According to the Ventura County Fire Department, the plane involved was a Hawker Hunter jet trainer.
The jet had taken off from Naval Base Ventura County and crashed at about 12:15 p.m. near the base.
The pilot was declared dead at the scene. Authorities say there was no one else aboard. It was unclear if the pilot was a civilian or a member of the military.
