Four Believed Dead In Accident Along Rugged Slope

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 12.22.05 1415 EST: Search teams have found the charred remnants of a missing aircraft that went down Wednesday night near Gilroy, CA. None of the four passengers onboard the vintage 1956 Cessna 172 (file photo of type, below) are believed to have survived the accident.

The plane -- reported by the San Jose Mercury News to be N7383A, registered to Leonard Vongiese -- went down in steep, rugged terrain that, combined with poor visibility, had hindered earlier search efforts. Identities of the four have not been released.

One witness reported seeing the aircraft performing aerobatics -- possibly indicating the aircraft was in a spin when it went down.

INITIAL REPORT: Search crews from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, the California Department of Forestry, and park rangers are scouring a steep, rugged area near the town of Gilroy for any sign of an airplane -- said to be a Cessna 172 -- that is believed to have gone down near Coyote Lake Wednesday night.

Just before 9 pm, the FAA received a distress call from the pilot of a single-engine, high-winged aircraft, according to Santa Clara County communications watch commander Curtis Darnell. The pilot was reportedly about 3.5 miles east of the South County Airport in San Martin, just north of Gilroy.

FAA Regional Operations Officer Larri Frelow told the San Jose Mercury News the Oakland Flight Service Station also received several calls from those in the area about the possible downing of a Cessna 172.

"There is a plane, possibly down, somewhere," Frelow said. "We don't know where."

Witnesses reported seeing a flashing light in the area. One witness stated a plane had been performing aerobatics.

Weather conditions and the rocky terrain have hindered the search effort so far, with rain and low cloud ceilings obscuring the area. It is unknown if those conditions were also present Wednesday night.

FMI: www.faa.gov