BREAKING: SOBOBA: Two injured after plane crashes onto reservation
UPDATE:2 p.m. With additional photographs and video from the scene
UPDATE:1 p.m. With additional photographs from the scene
SOBOBA – At least two people were injured after a small plane crashed into a ravine off of Indian Truck Trail, southeast of Soboba Road Thursday morning, Nov. 10. The plane came to rest upside down at the end of a residence east of the Soboba Sports Complex, where Soboba Road comes to a dead-end at the dirt extension of Indian Creek Road.
The air emergency was reported to emergency dispatchers at 10:44 a.m. By 11:30 a.m., firefighters and other emergency first responders had extricated two victims from the wrecked aircraft and they were being transported by ground ambulances to local area hospitals. No information regarding the victim’s medical status had been provided.
At least two victims were pulled from the mangled wreckage of the plane. Ricardo Ruelas photo
The plane, a white and red, single-engine 1977 Grumman AA1C, is registered to an Idyllwild area resident with an Idyllwild P.O. Box listed.
The wrecked plane reportedly ran out of gas and attempted to make an emergency landing on or near the reservation, according to a CHP incident log. Other reports indicated the plane had possibly lost power. While landing, the plane flipped over and came to rest on it’s roof.
At least two occupants were inside the plane when it went down. It was not immediately known if there were additional occupants inside the plane.
Riverside Sheriff’s Aviation Unit “Star 9” responded to the area to guide rescuers in to the location the plane had come to rest, which was described as “rugged and inaccessible.”
Hemet/Ryan AirOps are en route to assist with the air emergency and crash investigation.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators have been notified and are also en route to the location to conduct a crash investigation.
Julie Jamison, a Hemet resident, said she heard what sounded like a plane in distress just moments before the plane went down. “I could tell something was wrong with the plane,” Jamison said. “After I stopped hearing the motor struggling, I was waiting to hear a crash.”
It was not immediately known where the plane had departed from or where it was traveling to.
Click any image to open full-size gallery.
Eddie George/Hemet News video
Ricardo Ruelas/Hemet News video
Numerous fire engines and emergency first responders can be seen at the location of the air emergency. The plane is barely visible on the far right side of this photograph. Aric Bell photo
This is a developing story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
Pingback: BANNING: Two hospitalized after plane crashes alongside I-10 | Riverside County News Source