Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau officials are reporting plane crash wreckage found in the mountains near Lake Hughes.
The crash was found in a “pretty desolate area,” said Lt. James Duran of the
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Another plane flying over the area reportedly spotted the crash and contacted Kern County Sheriff’s officials, who then contacted the LASD Aero Bureau, Duran said. An LASD helicopter was sent out to the area and found the crash.
Duran said there appears to be a a fatality.
Photos of the crash were posted to the LASD SEB Twitter page Wednesday around 11 a.m.
Press Release from the Civil Air Patrol:
Members of Civil Air Patrol’s California Wing located the wreckage of a missing Mooney aircraft with a single pilot on board Wednesday morning in the mountainous terrain near Lake Hughes in Los Angeles County. There were no survivors.
The aircraft was reported overdue Tuesday after the pilot’s neighbors alerted Kern County Sheriff’s Department to barking dogs at the pilot’s home. Sheriff’s officials determined the pilot, who routinely flew between Tehachapi Municipal Airport (KTSP), where the plane was based, and the Los Angeles area, was last seen at the Tehachapi airport around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Jan. 12. No flight plan was filed and the plane’s intended destination was unclear.
The California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol was activated Tuesday evening by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, located at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, to initiate a search for the missing aircraft. A CAP aircrew flew an electronic route search Tuesday night between Tehachapi and Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, but heard no pings from the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter.
Overnight efforts by the CAP National Radar Analysis Team narrowed down the initial search area. A second aircrew and a CAP ground team launched from Whiteman Airport (KWHP) in Pacoima just after sunrise Wednesday morning to conduct a visual search in the mountainous area between the communities of Castaic and Lake Hughes, within the Angeles National Forest.
The downed aircraft was located about an hour into the air search, at approximately 7:45 a.m.
A CAP ground team of eight search and rescue volunteers confirmed the wreckage on a steep hillside as that of the missing Mooney at 8:15 a.m., and the team reported what appeared to be one fatality at the site.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LACSO) helicopter was dispatched to the site and the coroner’s office notified. CAP ground team members were requested by LACSO to remain at the wreckage until the coroner’s office arrived on scene.
“While the outcome of this mission was not what we hoped for, I’m thankful we were able to provide closure to the pilot’s family members and friends,” said Civil Air Patrol incident commander Capt. Charles Christian.
“I’m proud of the professionalism demonstrated by members of Civil Air Patrol’s California Wing, who worked tirelessly through the night to plan and prepare for the visual search phase. Their training and hard work brought swift resolution to an unfortunate situation,” Christian said.
A total of 43 CAP professional volunteers, two CAP aircraft and two CAP vehicles were used in the search mission.
A pilot died when his single-engine aircraft crashed in a remote area of Newhall on Saturday afternoon.
Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, Inc. has announced the receipt of a $50,000 Community Health Improvement Grant from Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital to fund expanded mental health services for youth in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Time is running out to pre-register for the annual city of Santa Clarita Neighborhood Cleanup in celebration of Earth Day, scheduled for Saturday, April 19.
The College of the Canyons Foundation will host its third annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, April 27, in the college’s West P.E. (WPEK) gymnasium, located on the Valencia campus.
The LA County Arts Internship Program will invest over $1.6 million to fund 228 university and community college internships, providing students with paid on-the-job experience in the arts and creative sector at over 170 nonprofit organizations starting this summer. Applications for interested students are open now.
SCV Water received three prestigious awards from the California Association of Public Information Officials at an awards luncheon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
When Abraham Martinez-Peña enrolled at California State University, Northridge as a film major, he knew the path he set out for himself — to be a professional comedy writer for film and television — would not be an easy one. Hollywood’s hiring reputation was more “who you know,” than “what you can do.”
After a nine-month process pursuant to requirements set forth in California’s Proposition 218, the SCV Water Board of Directors concluded its rate study and voted to implement proposed rate changes following a public hearing on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Members of the public and the campus community at California State University, Northridge will get a chance to test-drive the latest in electric vehicles on Wednesday, April 9, at CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability’s fourth annual EV Car Show.
Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, Inc. has announced the receipt of a $50,000 Community Health Improvement Grant from Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital to fund expanded mental health services for youth in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Time is running out to pre-register for the annual city of Santa Clarita Neighborhood Cleanup in celebration of Earth Day, scheduled for Saturday, April 19.
The Saugus Union School District Asset Management Committee will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. at the Saugus Union School District Office.
The Master's University baseball team split a doubleheader with the OUAZ Spirit Saturday, March 29 dropping the first game 13-4 but winning the second 1-0.
The Master's University men's volleyball team served up nine aces in a three-set win over the OUAZ Spirit Friday night, March 28 in Surprise, Ariz. 25-14, 25-15, 25-21.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital president and chief executive officer Kevin Klockenga has joined the board of directors of the Hospital Association of Southern California.
College of the Canyons women's tennis concluded its regular season schedule with a 9-0 sweep of Glendale College on Friday, March 28 to claim victory for the third time across the last five matches.
The College of the Canyons track teams combined to win three events while achieving several top marks during the annual Arnie Robinson Invitational hosted by San Diego Mesa College on March 28.
Howdy, Santa Clarita! It’s time to dust off those boots and round up the family because the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is riding back into William S. Hart Park April 12-13, for two full days of western fun you won’t want to miss!
The California state Senate Public Safety Committee has rejected Kayleigh’s Law (SB 421), a law proposed by Senator Suzette Valladares (R - Santa Clarita) that would implement protections for victims of violent crimes.
On March 28 the College of the Canyons swim and dive team competed in its second Western State Conference meet in as many weeks, this time finishing fourth in the field of five schools.
As World Autism Month kicks off in April, Yes I Can Unity Through Music & Education (YIC), a nonprofit organization that provides career skills training and employment services to adults with disabilities, is calling on businesses to recognize the immense value of neurodiverse talent.
Santa Clarita Valley Water is taking water-saving innovation to new heights with the release of its latest videos, featuring Carl, the water-wise hero, controlling sprinklers from space.
The city of Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission will meet 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3 at Council Chambers at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., 1st Floor, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
The Santa Clarita Artists Association has issued a call to artists for "Things with Wings," Art show which will open April 25 and runs through May 25 at the SCAA 6th Street Gallery, 22508 6th Street, Newhall, CA 91321.
Tweet This
Facebook
Digg This
Bookmark
Stumble
RSS
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
8 Comments
Any survivor
How was it missing without anybody knowing? ….. wow….
.
Nobody reported a missing plane?
Glenn Martin
Brian Bolding
Simple: no flight plan means no one knew (officially) that he was flying. It doesn’t sound like family members reported it either.
I worked with him he would fly to Torrance airport to cut time to get to work it’s sad he will be missed