I just heard on the news that a small plane crashed this weekend on the southeast side of Mount Shasta. The crash site is at 11400 ft, presumably near the Clear Creek route or Wintun Glacier. See
has the most details, but requires signing up with them. So I've copied the details here:<br><br>
Avalanche risk delays search for pilot's body<br><br>By Christina Lucarotti, Record Searchlight<br>June 21, 2005<br><br>MT. SHASTA -- Extreme avalanche danger on Mt. Shasta will delay rescue crews from recovering a downed plane, with a body presumably inside it, that was discovered Monday morning at 11,400 feet, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department said. It will be at least a week, if not two, before conditions are expected to be safe enough for crews to approach the crash site, said Grizz Adams, who handles emergency services for the Sheriff's Department.<br> <br> Officials believe the pilot, Robert F. Ayres, 69, of Ferndale, Wash., did not survive the crash, Adams said. No one else is believed to have been on board the Piper P-28 Cherokee. Family members told the Sheriff's Department that Ayres left the Gillespie Airport near Santee about 9:30 a.m. Saturday after spending the week in Southern California visiting his children. The Gillespie Airport was not open that morning, so Ayres did not file a flight plan, the Sheriff's Department said.<br><br> Officials believe he refueled in Red Bluff, which is where he usually stopped on trips from Santee to an airport in Bellingham, Wash., where he kept his plane, the Sheriff's Department said. Ayres had flown this route many times, and it is unclear what caused the plane to crash between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Adams said. His family members became concerned Monday after Ayres did not return their calls, the Sheriff's Department said.<br><br> The search for his plane, however, began Saturday evening after the Civil Air Patrol informed the Sheriff's Department of a satellite signal coming from an emergency locator transmitter in the area of Mt. Eddy. While no aircraft had been reported overdue, search efforts continued Sunday and narrowed the location of the signal to Mt. Shasta, Adams said. A heavy cloud cover surrounding the volcano Sunday prevented the California Highway Patrol helicopter and Civil Air Patrol from searching the area.<br><br> During a flight Monday, the crashed plane was discovered about 7:30 a.m. on the southeast side of the mountain above the tree line, Adams said. The damaged plane appeared to be intact, but heat-seeking equipment on the CHP helicopter did not detect any signs of life nor were any footprints seen outside the plane, Adams said. Adams described the area as isolated and steep, with slopes at more than 40-degree angles.<br><br> A California National Guard Blackhawk helicopter crew determined Monday that winds of more than 35 mph combined with a high avalanche risk made it unsafe to lower anyone to the crash site, the Sheriff's Department said. The Sheriff's Department, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.<br><br> Reporter Christina Lucarotti can be reached at 225-8215 or at clucarotti@redding.com.
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