SIMI MAN DIES IN OWN HELICOPTER; HOMEMADE CRAFT GOES DOWN ON HILLSIDE IN BREA CANYON AREA.Byline: Lisa Mascaro and Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writers A Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. man was killed when the homemade home·made adj. 1. Made or prepared in the home: homemade pie. 2. Made by oneself. 3. Crudely or simply made. Adj. 1. helicopter he built and piloted crashed in a canyon north of Madera Street on Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. . Family members said Mark Burson was the kind of man who could build just about anything, from the Simi Valley home he renovated to the kit helicopter he built and enjoyed flying on weekends. On Sunday, Burson went out for a rare evening ride in the helicopter, taking off from the familiar spot near the Gillibrand company's sand and gravel pit Noun 1. gravel pit - a quarry for gravel stone pit, quarry, pit - a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate; "a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'" on Tapo Canyon Road. When Burson failed to return from the flight, his wife, Nelda, reported him missing to the Simi Valley Police Department The Simi Valley Police Department (SVPD) is the police department of the city of Simi Valley, California. The department currently has over 120 sworn officers, and more than 65 support personnel[1]. The department has a patrol area that covers over 39 square miles. about 8:45 p.m. A Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. search and rescue team found the wreckage about six hours later on the side of a knoll northeast of the Simi Valley Landfill. Burson was 47. He was a great dad, said Chris Burson, 24, the eldest of two children, who added that he often had been flying with his father in the helicopter. ``(He was) good with his hands. He could build anything,'' Burson recalled. At their Simi Valley home, where Burson lived with his wife and daughter, Kelly, 21, his family was trying to cope Monday with the sudden loss. Chris Burson, who was married two weeks ago and lives in Wood Ranch, stood outside the family's east-side home and described his father's life and work. He said his father was from Alabama, where he and Nelda met as high school sweethearts. The family relocated to Simi Valley from Colorado in the summer of 1989. Burson, his son said, was a project manager for an electrical firm, overseeing projects at some landmark Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. institutions. But his craftsmanship showed at home, where he completely renovated what had been a run-down run·down n. 1. A point-by-point summary. 2. Baseball A play in which a runner is trapped between bases and is pursued by fielders attempting to make the tag. adj. also run-down 1. a. property into a pristine home with a stylish brick entryway and large French doors around the house. Helicopters had been a recent addition to his craft, the son said, and came following a helicopter ride the family took a few years ago in Hawaii. ``It's just something he got into,'' said Chris Burson. His father received his helicopter pilot's license about 1-1/2 years ago and had been flying helicopters since then. About six months ago, he built the Mini 500 helicopter from a mail-order kit, Chris Burson said. Although he took the helicopter out most weekends, the son said Burson rarely took flights at night. The wreckage of Burson's home-built helicopter was discovered about 2:45 a.m. Monday in the middle of a ranch northeast of the Simi Valley Landfill. The helicopter was located more than a mile north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Brea Canyon, a hilly hill·y adj. hill·i·er, hill·i·est 1. Having many hills. 2. Similar to a hill; steep. hill area owned by Union Oil Company and leased to cattle ranchers, officials said. The helicopter apparently hit near the top of the knoll and came to rest farther down, officials said. Federal investigators inspected the wreckage and combed the brush- and grass-covered area throughout the morning, looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. parts and attempting to piece together what happened. ``We investigate the aircraft itself as far as the items that may have caused the crash,'' said Gary Barnard, the aviation safety inspector on the scene for the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control office in Van Nuys. Barnard, however, said the final report would be made by the aviation unit of the National Transportation Safety Board. A safety board official arrived before the wreckage was hauled off the hillside. It will be taken to a facility for a more thorough examination of flight controls, instruments, the engine and the helicopter's structural features, said Gary Mucho, a safety board spokesman. Whether wind played a factor in the crash was not clear. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) FAA investigators locate a piece of wreckage from the helicopter crash that took the life of Simi Valley resident Mark Burson. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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