(L.A.) Robert Spencer, 24, Died at Van Nuys Airport
Case Number: 2023-09946
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 24-year-old White/Caucasian male that occurred at Van Nuys Airport.
The coroner’s office has identified the individual as Robert Spencer.
Manner of Death: Accident
Cause of Death: Blunt Force Trauma
RIP ROBERT RIDGLEY SPENCER (January 24, 1999 – August 2, 2023)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Wednesday at 11:01 a.m.
The decedent was apparently a student on a training flight who died along with his instructor in a crash at Van Nuys Airport.
According to an airport police officer who witnessed the incident from a short distance away, the plane was a single-engine CSA SportCruiser that hit the ground nose first with very high impact. The plane belonged to Aviator Flight Academy.
Firefighters from a nearby fire station were on scene quickly and used foam in an effort to douse the intense flames from aviation fuel.
The other person on the plane was a licensed commercial pilot named Ronak Kandachia.