The pilot who died in a small plane crash in Sylmar was identified Friday as John King, 62, of Torrance.

He died when his twin-engine Cessna 337 Skymaster crashed alongside the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway in Sylmar at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the coroner’s office.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, the FAA said.

Details about why the plane went down were not immediately available. The location is near Whiteman Airport in the northeastern San Fernando Valley.

The crash is the third in recent months near Whiteman Airport.

In November, a plane crashed in a neighborhood near the runway, killing a Civil Air Patrol pilot.

In January, a plane landed on train tracks near the airport and was struck by a Metrolink train. LAPD officers rescued the pilot from the wreckage moments before the train crashed into the plane.

The county Board of Supervisors asked its staff to begin compiling documents and data that would need to be presented to the FAA if the county opted to seek a closure of the airport.