Prominent Arizona business man, wife and daughter die in experimental plane crash
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}William A. Stern Jr., was killed along with his wife and their 19-year-old daughter when his experimental plane crashed outside San Diego. (MyFoxPhoenix.com)
A Phoenix businessman and his wife and teenage daughter died Saturday when his home-built experimental aircraft crashed in a nature preserve in San Diego, MyFoxPhoenix.com reported.
William Stern Jr., his wife Jennifer, and their daughter Katelyn, 19, were onboard the his Lancair IV-P plane, which is a single-engine aircraft that reportedly had a history of a "disproportionate" number of fatal accidents. According to the Lancair website, the IV-P is one of a series of aircraft kits that are no longer in production.
A friend says the Stern's had the plane for more than 6 years and oftentimes flew to Montgomery Field, which is north of San Diego. The family had a second home there.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sheriff deputies say a hiker saw the plane fall from the sky and hit the hillside about 10 a.m. Saturday.
"The plane was in some type of a spin coming out of the sky," said San Diego County Sheriff's Sgt. David Hale.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause of the crash.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}William Stern Jr., was the owner of Stern Produce, a large food distributor in the Phoenix area.