Plane Crash Kills Experienced Pilot in El Monte

EL MONTE (CBSLA.com) — An experienced pilot was killed after his small plane crashed Friday near the former El Monte Airport.

Jeffrey Ying died Friday morning, when his single-engine aircraft apparently lost power and banked left, making a fatal descent onto the San Gabriel Valley Airport runway without warning, witnesses said.

Those who knew Ying said he was a cautious, expert pilot who flew almost every day. He was one of only 166 in the world to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine plane.

Witnesses said the engine in Ying's plane stopped shortly after takeoff. Patrick Jones with the National Transportation Safety Board told reporters that "turning around can bleed off too much air speed, and it increases your stall speed."

Experts told CBS 2 News no distress call came from the plane before it crashed.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)