Small plane strikes Mexican high tension tower, killing pilot

Tijuana, Mexico.– A small plane crashed into a high tension tower in the border city of Mexicali on Tuesday, killing the pilot, Mexican authorities said.

The assistant director of public safety in Mexicali, Ignacio Famania, told journalists that the Cessna hit the electrical pylon early in the morning when it was flying very low, apparently trying to evade flight control radar along the border.

Upon striking the tower, the plane burst into flames.

Among the charred ruins of the aircraft, authorities found a 5-kilogram package of marijuana and other remnants of the illegal drug.

The fire consumed almost the entire plane, leaving only a wing and part of the tail relatively undamaged.

The body of the pilot was almost completely destroyed in the blaze. Mexicali is located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Tijuana.