Ventura,CA : Investigators probe Ventura County plane crash that killed Calabasas father and son on June, Sunday 4th 2017

Accident investigators are probing the probable cause of Sunday’s single-engine plane crash near Moorpark that killed a Calabasas father and his teenaged son, including whether a power line the plane struck might have been a factor, as well as who was piloting the plane, authorities said.

But nothing has been ruled out yet in the crash that killed James Harlan, 57, and his son Dylan, 15, after the 1967 Piper PA-28-180 crashed near a ranch around 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the Santa Rosa Valley, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

While Southern California Edison officials determined the plane did strike a wire, “it’s not exactly clear where that happened in the sequence,” said NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson. “Was that incidental to the accident or will that be some sort of causal factor in the accident? That’s all part of the investigation.”

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A preliminary report outlining the facts and circumstances of the crash is expected to be released next week while determining the cause of the crash will take roughly a year or so, he said.

James Harlan was the licensed pilot within the aircraft and he and his son both died of blunt force injuries in the crash that was ruled by coroner’s officials as an accident, according to Ventura County Medical Examiner-Coroner Zeb Dunn. However, the NTSB could not say Wednesday with certainty who was flying the plane.

“Almost all of these small planes have dual controls so it can be flown from left seat or right seat,” Knudson said. “It may not be possible to determine who was piloting the plane at the time the accident occurred.”

There is no black box required on these small aircraft, which would give investigators a great deal of info, Knudson added. The NTSB has in the past recommended these planes use video cameras with a view inside and outside the cockpit that would aid investigators in determining the cause of such crashes.

Numerous witnesses, including a pilot who witnessed the crash from a distance, saw the aircraft making low passes near a horse arena before it crashed, Knudson said. A small post-crash fire was extinguished relatively quickly, he added.

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Investigators probe Ventura County plane crash that killed Calabasas father and son