Cocaine Found in Downed Plane
A twin-engine Cessna carrying cocaine with what officials said was a street value of $25 million slammed into a runway at a remote Riverside County water pumping plant Tuesday, but the pilot escaped before authorities, drawn by a fire that erupted in an engine, reached the plane.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies said the aircraft’s landing gear collapsed as it touched down on the Eagle Mountain runway, causing the plane to spin into the side of a mountain.
The identities of the pilot and possible passengers were not known, authorities said.
Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Bobby Sheppard said 451 pounds of cocaine was seized.
The Southern California Metropolitan Water District maintains the runway to service the isolated pumping station near Joshua Tree National Monument.
Shortly after the 6 a.m. crash, MWD employees saw flames from the plane’s burning engine and alerted the California Division of Forestry, whose firefighters discovered the cocaine, sheriff’s deputies said.
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