Mona Shield Payne/Special to the Sun
Wreckage of a single-pilot, ultralight plane lies on a dry lake bed off U.S. 95 after crashing Thursday morning in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City. The pilot died in the crash.
Published Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 11:45 a.m.
Updated Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 1:14 p.m.
Plane crash
The pilot of a one-seat, ultralight aircraft died this morning after the plane crashed into a dry lake bed near Boulder City, 35 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
Boulder City dispatchers received a call reporting the crash at 7:39 a.m., according to Boulder City police.
Police and fire paramedics found the pilot, a man between 45 and 50 years old, and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Witnesses told police the aircraft attempted to make a turn as it was about 50 feet off the ground. It never recovered from the turn and crashed, nose first, into the dry lake bed.
The Clark County Coroner's Office has not released the name of the pilot.
The Federal Aviation Administration isn't investigating the crash because the ultralight plane was unregistered, spokesman Ian Gregor said from the FAA's Los Angeles office.
Those operating unregistered ultralights do not need a pilot's license, he said.
Planes are considered ultra-light if they weigh less than 254 pounds and carry five gallons of fuel at maximum. Such craft can only be flown from dawn to dusk and cannot fly over populated areas, Gregor said.
"We don't investigate those crashes," Gregor said of the one near Boulder City.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy