Plane Down On California's "Death Mountain"

Two men are dead after their Piper Seminole went down in a rugged gulch near Julian (CA) Monday. While no one yet knows the cause, one nearby resident said winds at the time were clocked at more than 50 mph.

Dead at the scene were 20-year old student pilot Bradford Cederblom of Rathdrum (ID) and his instructor, 24-year old Damon Lott from Leeds (UT). Authorities said both bodies were found in the wreckage of the aircraft and recovered.

Vulcan Mountain, near Julian, has a reputation among locals as "Death Mountain," so-named because of the number of aircraft that have crashed there. One Vulcan Mountain resident, Don Madison, says he remembers nine crashes on the mountain since 1993, in which 13 people have been killed.

"They were right on the very top of the mountain, and it looked like they hit some trees, some dead trees, and crashed right in," Madison said. "They were on a flat area on top of the mountain."

FAA Preliminary Accident Report

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 304PA        Make/Model: PA44      Description: PA-44 Seminole, Turbo Seminole
  Date: 05/10/2004     Time: 0355

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: JULIAN                      State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, WAS SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE, 2
  PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED, WRECKAGE WAS
  LOCATED ON A RIDGE NEAR JULIAN VOR, JULIAN, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:    0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:           Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: KCRQ 110350Z 15003KTS 8 SM FEW016 OVC030 17/12 A2985                       
                                                                                    
                                                        

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: General Aviation

  Departed: PHOENIX, AZ                 Dep Date:    Dep. Time: 0130
  Destination: CARLSBAD, CA             Flt Plan: IFR          Wx Briefing: U
  Last Radio Cont: JIL VOR 40 NE OF SAN
  Last Clearance: DESEND TO 5200FT

  FAA FSDO: SAN DIEGO, CA  (WP09)                 Entry date: 05/11/2004

FMI: www.ntsb.gov