News - Rutan Rocket Engine Engineer Killed in Small Plane Crash

Engineer Killed in Small Plane Crash

By Associated Press

July 21, 2003, 7:07 PM EDT


TEHACHAPI, Calif. -- An aerospace engineer was killed when a kit
airplane he had spent years building crashed during takeoff on its
maiden flight.

The single-engine plane piloted by David Robert Thompson, 38, fell
back onto the runway and burst into flames Sunday at Mountain Valley
Airport, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

His wife and two children were among the witnesses.

"His family was there, videotaping," said coroner Kelly Cowan. "It was
supposed to be a celebration."

The cause of the crash was not known.

Thompson was in charge of developing a rocket motor for a private
manned spaceship program that aims to some day launch a three-seat
spaceship on suborbital flights.

He worked for the aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan, who
designed the only aircraft to fly around the world nonstop without
refueling.

Rutan said Monday that Thompson was flying a Q2, a kit plane marketed
in the 1980s by a company that is no longer in business. He said
Thompson "was very private" about the plane and did not tell
co-workers about the flight.


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Rusty Barton - Antelope, California |"Every so often, I like to
| stick my head out the window,
| look up, and smile for the
| satellite picture."-Steven Wright