Small plane crashes near Ridgecrest; at least one dead

An experimental, home-built plane crashed Saturday afternoon south of Ridgecrest and off the 14 Freeway near Red Rock Canyon, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.

Kern County fire officials found one fatality at the scene, he said.

The single-engine Van's RV-8 is registered to a Palmdale man, Gregor said, but he declined to provide additional information on the registration until the next of kin are notified.

The plane went down around 1:30 p.m. under unknown circumstances, Gregor said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. An NTSB investigator usually files a preliminary report within a week or two, but it can take the agency months to come up with a probable cause.

-- John Hoeffel