A scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory died Friday after his plane crashed on a Lose Angeles intersection.
Alberto Behar died on impact when his single-engine plane nosedived shortly after it took off from Van Nuys Airport, the Washington Times reported.
Behar, 47, piloted the plane and was the only passenger onboard the aircraft, according to the New York Daily News.
He died around 1 p.m. local time and his experimental plane was smashed to pieces, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
The aircraft was labeled airworthy by the FAA since 1996, but the latest status of the craft had been listed as "in question." Alberto Behar Consulting LLC received licensing for the craft.
Behar worked with the Jet Propulsion Lab for 24 years. He worked with the Mars Exploration Rover Mission that developed Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity.
Behar researched the ways robots worked in harsh environments like volcanoes and underwater, The Washington Times reported.
In 2010 he designed a camera that caught a tiny shrimp-like creature swimming beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The crash is under investigation.
Behar received his PhD from the University of California in engineering and earned several awards with NASA as an investigation scientist with their Mobility and Robotics Systems Section, according to the New York Daily News.
He lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife and three children.
