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New project will restore coastal wetlands in Ventura County damaged by plane crash

A 2011 plane crash at Naval Base Ventura County resulted in a plane loaded with aviation fuel burning in the Mugu Lagoon Wetlands.
Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives
A 2011 plane crash at Naval Base Ventura County resulted in a plane loaded with aviation fuel burning in the Mugu Lagoon Wetlands.

The 2011 crash involved an aerial refueling plane which crashed during takeoff. 10,000 gallons of aviation fuel burned in Mugu Lagoon Wetlands.

Federal funding is going to pay for a major effort to restore some wetlands in Ventura County damaged by a plane crash more than a decade ago.

In 2011, a converted 707 jetliner used for aerial refueling crashed, and burned while trying to take off from Naval Base Ventura County.

A wing spar collapsed, causing the plane to lose an engine. The pilot made an emergency landing, with the plane ending up in the Mugu Lagoon Wetlands area next to the runways at the Point Mugu Naval Air Station.

All three crew members escaped with minor injuries. But, the plane carrying about 10,000 gallons of jet fuel burned.

Federal investigators determined a maintenance issue led to the crash. It was operated by a private contractor. State and federal regulators say they were unable to reach a settlement with the plane’s owner, Omega Aerial Refueling, about paying for restoration.

Now, the agencies have received $1.1 million from the National Pollution Funds Center.

The plans call for removing remaining debris from the marsh, taking away some non-native plants and replacing them with native ones, and monitoring the restoration site for five years.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.