​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