2 Planes That Collided In LA County Were On Cross-Country Trip

LANCASTER, CA — The two vintage-style airplanes that collided Sunday in the Lancaster area were on a cross-country trip together at the time of the crash, according to authorities.

The reason for the collision, which left one of the pilots dead, remains unknown, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.

The crash occurred shortly before 1 p.m. and involved a Yakovlev Yak-52 and a Nanchang CJ-6A, according to authorities, who said the person who died had been piloting the Nanchang and was pronounced at the scene.

The Yak-52 was described as a vintage Soviet-era aircraft and the CJ-6A a decades-old Chinese plane.

The aircraft reached the ground in the areas of 47th Street East and Avenue F and 60th Street East and Avenue G, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A transportation safety board investigator examined the wreckage Monday and a flight data recorder was recovered from the Nanchang, which will be sent to the board’s headsquarters in Washington, the agency said.