San Jose pilot rescued after crashing plane in Sierra east of Fresno
By Robert [email protected]
POSTED: 09/16/2014 04:09:36 PM PDT0 COMMENTS| UPDATED: ABOUT 4 HOURS AGO

SAN JOSE -- A pilot flying from San Jose escaped serious injury after his single-engine plane crashed east of Fresno, forcing him to spend the night in the southern Sierra Nevada until his rescue Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The pilot, described only as a 67-year-old man, was reported missing Monday evening when his Piper PA-21 failed to land as scheduled in Lone Pine, a town nestled between Inyo National Forest and Death Valley National Park, according to the National Park Service. He had departed earlier in the day from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose.

The Air Force dispatched aircraft operated by the Civil Air Patrol and eight servicemen conducted three aerial searches late Monday night and early Tuesday, during which they detected a distress beacon. After pausing for low visibility, they resumed their search about 7:15 a.m.; just after 9 a.m., they spotted the downed plane about 80 miles east of Fresno. The pilot was seen walking around the crash site.

A rescue helicopter from the National Park Service took the man to Sequoia National Forest headquarters at Ash Mountain, then to a hospital where he was treated for injuries to his ribs and face, spokeswoman Jana McCabe said.

The circumstances of the plane crash were not clear Tuesday.

Photo near Lone Pine

Okay, I admit it. I totally thought this report was going to have a completely different story line...

What in the hell is a PA-21?

I think you are looking for the Flying Naked thread for Blu's achievement Mike!

robw56 wrote:What in the hell is a PA-21?

The PA-21 was a proposed production version of the Baumann Brigadier
That would be different.

That wasn't a crash. He just landed his Cherokee off field.

Grassstrippilot wrote:I think you are looking for the Flying Naked thread for Blu's achievement Mike!

Hmmm... Can't seem to find that...

CapnMike wrote:

Grassstrippilot wrote:I think you are looking for the Flying Naked thread for Blu's achievement Mike!

Hmmm... Can't seem to find that...

got access to hot air?

ExperimentalAviator wrote:

CapnMike wrote:

Grassstrippilot wrote:I think you are looking for the Flying Naked thread for Blu's achievement Mike!

Hmmm... Can't seem to find that...

got access to hot air?

In this case, Thank the Gods, YES!!

GumpAir wrote:http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/saratoga-pilot-crashes-plane-lives-tell-survival-s/nhRk9/

Wow.. that is a bit frightening, propeller just breaking off mid flight. What would cause something like that, a nick in the leading edge that over time grew a stress fracture? I'm not asking as anything negative to this pilot, but to make sure I'm checking my prop properly for preflight. Right now what I do is visually inspect and run a finger nail down the leading edge to check for nicks.

I wonder, did he not have shoulder harnesses?

Tom

Tom wrote:I wonder, did he not have shoulder harnesses?

Tom

That's what I wanted to know as well. I am very happy that I have a shoulder strap in my airplane. It really makes me feel better.

piperpainter wrote:

Tom wrote:I wonder, did he not have shoulder harnesses?

Tom

That's what I wanted to know as well. I am very happy that I have a shoulder strap in my airplane. It really makes me feel better.

I'm thinking he made an impression on something with his face......First thing I thought was whether he had harnesses, or if he did, were they loose.

Ouch, in any case!

MTV

What the clueless press is calling a "PA-21" is actually a 1966 Cherokee PA-28-150, N5948W.

Dale Moul wrote:What the clueless press is calling a "PA-21" is actually a 1966 Cherokee PA-28-150, N5948W.

Hey, cmon....that's only 7 off.

MTV

Well, while we're picking on the press (I work for a newspaper so I'm qualified), if he really was "13,000 feet high above the San Joaquin Valley" as the story states, he'd have had countless landing options. Last I checked the SJ Valley was just littered with airports.

Arctic Circle lost a prop on a 207 over jack smith bay a number of years ago. Oil on the windscreen still made it to the beach and landed safely. Same area where Shaun Lunt moose stalled in his super cub. Bolted on another prop...flew to Bethel without incident.