Cessna 175, N9370B: Accident occurred June 15, 2013 in Needles, California

NTSB Identification: WPR13LA272 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Needles, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 175, registration: N9370B
Injuries: 2 Serious,2 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On June 15, 2013, about 1800 Pacific daylight time, a single-engine Cessna 175 airplane, N9370B, experienced a loss of engine power during cruise flight and made a forced landing in a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness Area, in Needles, California. The private pilot owned and operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a business flight. The pilot and one passenger received minor injuries; two additional passengers received serious injuries. The airplane sustained structural damage throughout the fuselage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed the Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), Tehachapi, California, about 1530, and was destined for Ernest A. Love Field Airport (PRC), Prescott, Arizona. No flight plan had been filed.

Three people were injured in a plane crash Saturday evening near Laughlin, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.  The single-engine plane with four people on board went down about 6 p.m. in a ravine, according to an FAA spokesman. Three people were injured and transported to a hospital. Their conditions are not known.

The plane was en route to Bullhead City, Arizona.  Where the flight originated was not known.   The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.

Source:  http://www.reviewjournal.com

LAUGHLIN — A small private plane crashed in the hills just north and west of Needles early Saturday evening, sending first responders scurrying to try and locate the aircraft and evacuate the injured before darkness fell.

The first report of the crash was received just after 6 p.m., when the unidentified pilot reported that his plane had gone down. He advised emergency dispatch that he could see the Avi Resort & Casino in Laughlin, Nevada from his location and attempted to send GPS coordinates from his cell phone.

Crews from the Fort Mojave Mesa Fire Department, Mohave Valley Fire Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the San Bernardino County Fire Department established a command post at the intersection of Aha Macav Parkway and Needles Highway, on the California/Nevada border. A helicopter from CareFlight was called in to assist with the search and rescue.

An initial ground-based search and rescue attempt was unsuccessful, due to the rugged terrain. As crews prepared to regroup in a location south of the command post and attack from a different direction, CareFlight called in and reported that it had been able to evacuate two of the crash victims and that it would return to rescue the remaining passengers.

Preliminary reports are that four individuals were on the flight, two of whom were injured. The extend of their injuries was not known.

Unconfirmed sources reported that the aircraft ran out of fuel.

Source:  http://www.mohavedailynews.com