N130LD Less Drag Special CRASH-Two fatal.

This aircraft based at Oxnard Airport OXR, California crashed yesterday shortly after takeoff from OXR into a nearby farm field north of Wooley Road between Harbor Blvd. and Victoria Avenue. The crash was reported about 12 p.m. The aircraft was in pieces with little recognizable. There was extensive fire damage shown on TV coverage.

The crash was witnessed. Shortly after takeoff the aircraft had engine problems, the engine was reported to have "cut out" and then the plane went "straight down". The two occupants were not immediately identified. A number of people reported hearing an explosion.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.

N130LD appears to be a VAN's RV-8 highly modified by the builder. It had a IO-540 260 Hp engine and a four-blade scimitar prop. I have a number of photos of it in better times. One is enclosed. The builder/owner was well-known in the homebuilt community.

I drove on Wooley Road past the site about 25 minutes before the reported time of the crash toward our beach home and was unaware of the crash until seeing the coverage on evening TV news. It is a daily drive for me.

http://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/small/000/786/786380.jpg

Today's Ventura County STAR newspaper confirmed the identity of the two deceased pilots in the crash of N130LD. The aircraft called Less Drag Special was actually built by the pilot/owner around a Van's RV-4 with Harmon Rocket II mods and other mods incorporated from the pilot's background as a mechanical engineer.

His business was Less Drag Products. He was the Founder and President of the Oxnard, CA. EAA Chapter 1469 based at OXR and well known for helping other aircraft builders and being an advocate for hangar owners at the County-owned airport. He participated at EAA AirVenture and Sun'N'Fun with N130LD.

The other occupant was a pilot of about five years and recently built an experimental aircraft also.

I have been contacted by the pilot's family and given permission for aircraft photo use in the obituary. My condolences to all affected by this tragedy.

No. Because of the extent of the damage, reports of explosion with aircraft in pieces and consuming fire the NTSB might have a tough time in their investigation assigning any definitive cause, my opinion. The aircraft wreckage was not widely scattered. The area of the wreckage and witness reports suggest the aircraft was in a left departure climb after takeoff from OXR's runway 25.

The owner of N130LD also owned N47RV, a 1988 RV-3 and N130YY, a 2000 RV-6A. Photos of both aircraft are also on this site.

The NTSB has released a Preliminary Report of the crash of N130LD that killed two occupants. Per the report, a local resident visiting a storage facility at the Oxnard Airport OXR said the engine of the plane backfired two or three times, then heard a loud "boom" ten or fifteen seconds after the engine backfired. The NTSB report issued 5 July 2013 also confirmed the the owner/builder was the pilot of N130LD on 29 June 2013.

An FAA inspector reported the plane's right wing was engulfed by fire after the crash. Tail assembly , left horizontal stabilizer and rudder received thermal damage, according to the report.

N130LD's wreckage was recovered and is in a storage facility for further investigation.

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The Oxnard Airport has several storage facilities along West Fifth Street adjacent to the airport. Intervening structures would not allow the witness at a storage facility to observe the full last flight of N130LD nor the ultimate crash site because of intervening structures and distance. I regularly flew GA aircraft based from OXR in the 1960s and 1970s and commuter aircraft as passenger frequently when the service was still offered. I have regularly driven by the airport for nearly 50 years, and am very familiar with it.