After an intense search from the skies and on the ground, a Civil Air Patrol Ground Search And Rescue Team reached the site of an aircraft crash in the Joshua Tree National Park late Monday night.
Crews found the two people who were trapped in a Cesna 172M aircraft. They were taken via helicopter to Desert Regional Medical Center with injuries sustained in the crash.
The plane left from Roy Williams Airport in Joshua Tree and was due into Palm Springs International Aiport Monday, FAA spokesperson Allen Kenitzer confirms to KPSP.
The owner of Roy Williams Airport, Park Richardson, tells KPSP that the two men in the plane were flight instructor Wayne Henry of Twentynine Palms and his student Rocky Harvey of Joshua Tree.
"The reason they are alive is probably because of the expertise of the instructor," Richardson tells KPSP.
Richardson says Henry is a "top-notch" instructor and has been working out of the Roy Williams Airport for 22 years. Henry has more than 18,000 hours of flight experience, according to Richardson.
Rescuers say when they found the small plane, it was upside down and in snow. The victims were stabilized at the scene until Riverside County Fire could be airlifted to the scene to get them out.
The heavy rain did not help in the search either.
Before the passengers were found, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) told KPSP Local 2 News "Weather is creating a challenge for the aircraft as the ground is obscured as the flight crew maintains a safe altitude for terrain clearance."
Lt. Matt Scherzi with CAP said, "It's our job is to save lives. We're there to save lives."
The plane, built in 1973, is registered to a woman out of Joshua Tree, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
KPSP Local 2 will continue to follow this developing story and will provide updates as the become available.
