Massive Search Effort Found Wreckage One Hour After Sunday Night Accident

Rescue personnel who responded to a fatal weekend plane crash near Coalinga, CA were hampered by near-zero-visibility fog at the accident site, according to local newspaper.

The Hanford Sentinel reports those onboard the downed Beechcraft Bonanza used their cell phones to direct emergency personnel to the scene of the accident, in an oil field about 400 feet short of the runway at the New Coalinga Municipal Airport (C80).

"They led the crews to the scene by listening for sounds in the fog and directing them based on that," Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Curtice said. "It took a while to find them."

As ANN reported, the plane crashed about 8:30 pm Sunday evening, after diverting from a planned landing at the nearby Harris Ranch due to the fog. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilot initially planned to fly to Santa Barbara... but the aircraft then suffered engine failure, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing at Coalinga.

Crews from the Fresno Sheriff's Department, Coalinga police, Emergency Medical Services and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found the three people onboard the plane about an hour after the crash.

One of the occupants, 51-year-old Marya Yee, later died at a nearby hospital. The other two occupants, who have not been identified, escaped with minor injuries.

The plane was substantially damaged in the accident. Images of the wreckage (above) show the wing, tail, and fuselage aft of the firewall largely intact and resting upright, with the most apparent damage seen in the crushed engine compartment.

(Screengrab from KFSN-30)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov