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One dead after experimental plane crashes into Watsonville apple orchard
By J.M. Brown--
Sentinel staff writer
WATSONVILLE - The pilot of a single-engine experimental airplane died Saturday after crashing into an apple orchard off Freedom Boulevard near Corralitos Creek.
The plane was on approach to Watsonville Municipal Airport at 5,000 feet when the pilot declared an emergency at 1:25 p.m., stating his engine was on fire, authorities said. The pilot told air traffic controllers in Oakland he would try to land at the Watsonville airport, but that was his last transmission.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the plane's tail number is believed to be N7JX, though a different number is painted on the plane. Gregor described the plane as a homebuilt, fixed-wing experimental Lancair Legacy, but said it's unclear why the number on the plane doesn't match FAA records.
A plane with N7JX is registered to Gary M. Lampert of Zephyr Cove, Nev., a small town on the southeastern banks of Lake Tahoe. The identity of the pilot, a white male adult, was not immediately released by authorities. The pilot is believed to be the only person on board.
Watsonville airport closed to all other traffic, expecting to receive the hobbled aircraft. Simultaneously, Cal Fire positioned crews at the airport and sent a helicopter up to look for the plane, but there was no sign of it, Sheriff's Sgt. Fred Plageman said.
"Unfortunately, he never made it," Plageman said.
At 1:40 p.m., a resident on the 500 block of Monte Sereno Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains called dispatchers to report a plane was smoking and going down.
Mark Pista, who owns the 100-acre property at 2276 Freedom Boulevard, was outside reading when he heard a loud crash on the far end of the orchard. He assumed there had been a car accident until his cousin, who lives on the other side of the property, called to say he believed a plane was down.
Pista and his wife, Carol, walked out into the orchard, calling 911 from their cell phones. Minutes later, they found the crash site about 50 yards from Corralitos Creek. After seeing the pilot's shoes, the two called out to the man, who they said appeared to be in his 20s. But there was no answer, only the sound of sirens approaching.
"It was so sad to go down there and see someone," Carol Pista said. "I felt so awful. It's just so tragic."
The couple said the plane landed on a trellis surrounding a grove of young apple trees. They said it looked like the plane clipped another tree before hitting the ground. They said there was no easily visible sign of fire damage.
"The ground doesn't look that scored (but) the plane is just completely destroyed," Mark Pista, a former Navy pilot, said in astonishment. "I swear to God there was nothing left of it."
"To look at that plane as destroyed as it was, it looks like it should have tumbled 100 yards," Pista continued. "The trellis stopped him from going further. Poor kid."
Plageman said the county coroner will join an investigation to be led by the FAA and National Transportation and Safety Board. None of the authorities said an exact cause could be determined immediately.
"I'm certain the pilot took responsible measures to ditch in a non-populated area," Plageman said. "It's a really unfortunate set of events. We were hoping he ditched or survived."
By
J.M. Brown
WATSONVILLE - The pilot of a single-engine experimental airplane died Saturday after crashing into an apple orchard in the 2200 block of Freedom Boulevard, officials said.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency believes the tail number of the plane is N7JX, though a different number is actually painted on the plane.
Gregor described the plane as a homebuilt, experimental Lancair Legacy, but did not offer details about why the tail number is different than was appears on the plane.
The plane was on approach to Watsonville Municipal Airport at 5,000 feet when the pilot declared an emergency at 1:24 p.m., stating that his engine was on fire. The pilot told air traffic controllers that he would try to land at the airport, but that was his last transmission.
The identity of the pilot, who was the only person on board, was not immediately released by authorities. According to FAA records, the plane is registered to Gary M. Lampert of Zephyr Cove, Nev., which is on the banks of Lake Tahoe.
After the last transmission from the pilot, a resident on Monte Sereno Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains called dispatchers to report a plane that was smoking and going down but was unsure if it was into the Monterey Bay or on land.
Coast Guard, air crews and firefighters began searching land and water for the plane.
Other residents reported seeing the plane spiraling down, according to
emergency radio traffic.
At 2:15 p.m., a resident reported a plane in the orchard at 2276 Freedom Blvd. There was no fire caused by the plane crash.
WATSONVILLE, Calif. - The FAA reports one person was killed Saturday in a plane crash just north of the Watsonville Airport.
An FAA spokesperson says an experimental aircraft was on approach to Watsonville Municipal Airport when the pilot reported his engine was on fire. There were no further reports from the pilot. A crash site was located in an apple orchard in Freedom.
No one else was on board the plane; the plane is described as a homebuilt Lancair Legacy.
WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- Authorities said a single-engine plane crash-landed in Watsonville killing one person on Saturday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a home-built, experimental Lancair Legacy that was on approach to the Watsonville Municipal Airport when the pilot declared an emergency, stating that his engine was on fire.
Authorities say a single-engine plane has crash-landed near Watsonville. More
The pilot stated he had the Watsonville airport in sight and that he was going to try to and land there. There was no further communication from the pilot.
Witnesses later found the plane on their property at 2276 Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville.
The aircraft's tail number is N7JX.
The identity of the pilot was not released.
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