Pilot killed in crash of replica WWI-era plane in California

A Los Angeles man has been identified as the pilot killed when a replica World War I-era biplane crashed in a field on California's central coast

PASO ROBLES, Calif. (AP) — A Los Angeles man has been identified as the pilot of a replica World War I-era biplane that crashed in a field on California’s central coast

The San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s office says Javier Fernando Arango, 54, died when the single-engine, open-cockpit plane went down shortly after takeoff from a private airfield Sunday. He was the only person aboard.

Sheriff’s photos show the plane on its side with broken wings and a crumpled front near Paso Robles, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Ian Gregor with the Federal Aviation Administration says it’s a replica Appleby Nieuport 28 from 1976.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2oEn9t7) that Arango was a board member emeritus of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The crash is under investigation.

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