Stunt Pilots Die in Crash Near Descanso

What started as an aerobatics joy ride ended in a fatal plane crash Sunday evening about 30 miles east of San Diego.

William Travis, 49, of San Diego and his son Paul, 25, of Aurora, Colo., were found in the wreckage of their single-engine plane, which crashed in the remote Tule Springs area west of Descanso. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

A San Diego County Sheriff’s Department helicopter discovered the wreckage early Monday morning. Officials have not determined the cause of the accident.

Travis and his son, both experienced pilots, left Montgomery Field about 6 p.m. Sunday for a brief aerobatics flight in the elder man’s Pitts Special S2-A aircraft. The plane is designed for stunt flying.

Friends of the victim’s family told authorities that William Travis, a flight instructor, flew over the Tule Springs area frequently on stunt flights.

The two were scheduled to make a round-trip flight between the Montgomery airfield and the Borrego Springs airport before nightfall. When Travis’ plane, which was not equipped for night flying, failed to check in at either airport, authorities contacted the sheriff’s Astrea helicopter crew to initiate a search for the plane.

The Astrea helicopter crew, part of a squadron of sheriff’s helicopters that routinely provides aerial support for law enforcement agencies, began a search Sunday night, but increasing clouds forced the helicopter to return to El Cajon at 1 a.m. and wait until the fog cleared early Monday morning.

The Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary air squadron, continued to search for the missing plane while Astrea squadrons were detained, but the low clouds made it difficult to spot the wreckage in the mountainous region, officials said.

By dawn the fog had lifted considerably and the helicopter crew resumed its aerial search, spotting the wreckage about 7:30 a.m.

Federal Aviation Administration officials are investigating the crash.