60-year-old Colorado pilot rescued after Mecca area plane crash

A pilot whose airplane crashed in the area between Painted Canyon and Box Canyon was rescued by sheriff’s officials Sunday, Dec. 11. The rugged, mountainous area where the plane went down is eight miles east of the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport and two and one half miles north of Box Canyon.

The pilot and sole occupant of the private aircraft, who was identified as David Wedmore, 60 of Denver, Colorado, sustained significant head and facial injuries during the plane crash, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant John Clark.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Thermal Station responded to the reported aircraft emergency shortly after 10:30 p.m.

“Deputies were able to establish intermittent communications via cell phone with Wedmore,” Clark explained. They then used his cell phone to obtain GPS coordinates to the crash site.

Riverside County Special Emergency Response Team members coordinated a rescue with assistance from the San Bernardino’s County Sheriff’s aviation unit. SERT members located Wedmore and the downed aircraft about one hour after the reported air emergency, at 11:30 p.m., Clark explained.

After he was located, medics transported Wedmore to Desert Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to survive.

The reason for the crash has not yet been determined and is being investigated by Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board officials.

 

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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.