Cessna Recovered at Glory Ridge
E T Russell ____ Monday morning October 20th at the
Glory Ridge area, wasn’t a siege of marijuana grow, instead it was the recovery
operations of an airplane that went deep into the canyon and crashed into dense
vegetation. It appeared that the most damaged to a wing was also the salvation
of the three occupants of a Cessna 172S .
Previously,
on Thursday, October 16th the airplane crash-landed in the Glory
Ridge canyon near State Route 18 at approximately 2:00 P.M., with the occupants
being lifted to safety. National Transportation Safety Board investigators began
surveying the wreckage, interviewing witnesses and making plans to retrieve the
aircraft. For
more Plane crash details visit this site:
http://www.bigbearlake.net/etnews/glory-ridge-plane-crash.
Caltrans Terri Kasinga District 8 Chief, Public and
Legislative Affairs, called a special press conference for the observation of
the recovery project. Only a few were allowed to go beyond the barrier for the SR-18
closure, secured by the CHP at the Bear Valley Dam. The attending media was
ROTW News Editor Michael Neufeld, Big Bear Lake.net NewsRoom Editor E T Russell,
Photographer Richard Millener, Caltrans Videographer Mario Maala, San Bernardino County
Fire Department PIO Marc Peebles, KTLA Channel
5 and ABC Channel 7.
The damaged Cessna
172S was to be retrieved by Guardian Helicopters of Van Nuys, California and Salvage
Air Transport from Phoenix, Arizona. Reed Jarman of the transport company and persommel
hiked down the approximate 500 foot, steep, thick vegetated canyon wall to the wreckage,
to prepare the plane to be hoisted up to the Glory Ridge turn-out area. As members
of the press and Caltrans personnel watched, the red helicopter pilot lowered
the cable to the plane. The plane was recovered first, with a second delivery
of the plane’s wing following soon after. The wrecked Cessna was placed on the
flat-bed trailer for the journey to Phoenix, where NTSB will carefully examine
it and determine the cause of the crash.
While
at the Glory Ridge site, press members heard the scanner call of an
experimental plane crash in Fawnskin, near Captain John’s Marina on North Shore
Drive. After completing the recovery of the Cessna Jarman went to the Grout Bay
site and loaded that crashed plane, to carry it to Phoenix, as well. Visit
this site at: http://www.bigbearlake.net/etnews/experimental-plane-down-
PHOTOS by Richard Millener
Below: Caltrans Crew and PIO Teri Kasinga, ROTW News Michael Neufeld, Big Bear Lake NewsRoom E T Russell
discuss strategy of the retrieval with rescue team from Phoenix




