Bay Area Pilot Survives Small Plane Crash in Sequoia National Park

A plane that went missing Monday after departing from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose was discovered by search crews Tuesday in Sequoia National Park, near Funston Lake.

The pilot, who was the only person on board, survived the crash and suffered non-life threatening injures.

Officials said the plane, a single-engine Piper PA-28, departed from San Jose at about 10:45 a.m. Monday and was headed to the airstrip at Panamint Springs Resort in Death Valley. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Search crews began looking for the plane early Tuesday after the pilot's wife reported he had not arrived at his destination. National Park Service crews found the plane around 9:20 a.m., near where the last known Emergency Locator Transmitter signal had been heard, according to authorities.

Records show the plane belongs to a Saratoga man.

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