The pilot of a private plane has been rescued after surviving a crash in Sequoia National Park on Monday. , the 67-year-old pilot, who was the plane’s only passenger, spent more than 24 hours in a remote area of the park before the Civil Air Patrol located him with the wreckage.
The pilot was airlifted to a regional hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, including broken ribs and facial injuries. He has not been identified, but the Fresno Bee reports that the airplane was registered to Timothy Cassell of Saratoga. Park ranger Jana McCabe told the Fresno Bee that the plane, a 1996 Piper PA28 Cherokee, had damaged landing gear and wings. The pilot had apparently been heading from Reid-Hillview Airport to the Panamint Springs Resort airstrip in Death Valley.
The Federation Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, after which the park service will remove the plane wreckage.