Wreckage, Body Found After Plane Disappeared on Way to San Jose

The pilot was found dead in the wreckage about 100 miles south of San Jose.

Search crews have found the wreckage of a small plane that disappeared during a flight from Arizona to San Jose late Wednesday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said crews found the single-engine Beechcraft BE36 near the San Benito community of New Idria around 1 p.m. Saturday.

Gregor says the pilot, who has not been named, was found dead in the wreckage.

The pilot was flying the plane from St. John's Industrial Airport in Arizona to San Jose late Wednesday.

Gregor says traffic controllers were not in contact with the plane, but the pilot had communicated to friends that he was diverting to Hollister because of bad weather.

When a GPS tracking device on the plane was no longer transmitting Thursday, the pilot's friends reported the plane missing.

The wrecked plane was found in rugged and remote terrain about 100 miles southeast of San Jose.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us