The Associated Press is reporting that Robert H. Brown and his plane are missing.  Robert took off from the Minden-Tahoe airport at 4pm on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 headed to Tracy, CA.

The Civil Air Service is currently searching for Robert and his single engine plane in Amador & El Dorado counties in California. When tracking Robert’s plane by radar, the Civil Air Service has evidence that his plane made a rough and rapid descent.  A difficult search is anticipated as the area where Robert is reported to be is buried under 6-10 feet of snow & his plane is white.

Robert is a licensed, experienced pilot from Carson City, NV.  Robert is a wine maker and philanthropist.  He is a supporter of breast cancer research and even named one of his wineries Cleavage Creek Cellars.

Nevada’s Civil Air Patrol estimates that there are up to 200 uncharted plane wrecks currently hidden in the Sierra Nevada.

The Sierra Nevada is considered the Bermuda Triangle of the west coast.

Interesting aviation accident statistics:

Currently, there are approximately 228,000 active private pilots and 220,000 registered general aviation aircraft in the United States; 93% of the aircraft are planes, 4% are rotor- craft, and 3% are nonmotorized craft such as gliders.

From 2002 through 2005, general aviation, with an annual average of 1,685 crashes and 583 deaths, comprised 91% of all aviation-crashes and 94% of aviation.

The crash rate for general aviation, 1.31 fatal crashes per 100,000 flight hours, is 82 times the rate for major airlines.

–Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Unofficial Networks Newsletter

Get the latest snow and mountain lifestyle news and entertainment delivered to your inbox.

Hidden
Newsletters
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

5 replies on “Plane Missing in the Sierra Nevada | Sierra Considered Bermuda Triangle”