Coroner identifies pilot killed in crash near Banning Municipal Airport
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department released the identity of a 55-year-old man killed in a solo plane crash in Banning two weeks ago.
William Hunter of Aguila, Ariz., died after his fixed-wing single-engine aircraft crashed and caught fire in a field south of Interstate 10 near the Banning Municipal Airport on Nov. 22.
Records from FlightAware.com show Hunter's plane departed from Eagle Roost Airpark in Aguila at 6:09 p.m. Mountain time and flew for approximately one hour and 10 minutes before crashing near Banning.
The coroner's report says Hunter died at 8:15 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 22, nearly two hours after his plane crashed.
Hunter was alone in the plane, a Gallagher XLT-RG with a Lycoming brand engine.
The Federal Aviation Authority lists the owner of the plane as MPDKM Inc. of Las Vegas.
The FAA classified the engine as “experimental” and “amateur built.” It is unclear if the engine build was a cause in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency in charge of investigating the crash, has yet to release a report with additional details of what it deems to be an accident.
Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com or @Writes_Jonathan.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coroner identifies pilot killed in crash near Banning airport
