It wasn't his first time flying the plane. And it wasn't an experimental plane.
http: //www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-plane-crash-agua-dulce-20180211-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Since he finished building the plane in 1999, Thomas Hastings "traveled all around the world," his son said. The elder Hastings frequently volunteered for the Young Eagles program, which introduces youth to aviation with a free ride on an airplane.
"He's given thousands and thousands of rides," Jake Hastings said. "He just wants people to enjoy and love flying."
Thomas Hastings was an avid and experienced flier who obtained his pilot license before he could drive, at 15, with dreams of becoming a fighter pilot, his son said. He ended up working instead as a mechanical engineer and was about a year away from retiring from his job at Haas Automation.
Haas Automation
haascnc.com
Haas Automation, Inc is an American machine tool builder headquartered in Oxnard, California, that designs and manufactures precision machine tools and specialized accessory tooling, mostly computer numerically controlled, such as vertical machining centers and horizontal machining centers, lathes/turning centers, and rotary tables and indexers. Most of its production and manufacturing process occurs at the company's main facility in Oxnard.
Founded:1983
Number of locations:Oxnard, California: Corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility, Brussels, Belgium: Regional headquarters, Shanghai, China:
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