Search Resumes for Missing Plane
The Civil Air Patrol resumed its search Wednesday for two men aboard a single-engine plane that disappeared while on a flight from Southern California to the Sierra.
The missing pilot, Redwanj Abouhamed of Hawthorne flew out of Compton Airport sometime Sunday morning in a Piper Cherokee and was supposed to land in Big Bear or Mammoth within several hours, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elly Brekke.
Abouhamed, who did not file a flight plan, also apparently stopped at Hawthorne Airport to pick up an acquaintance, John Lazar of Inglewood.
The air patrol’s search effort was grounded Tuesday by low clouds and thunderstorms. By Wednesday, the patrol resumed its search with 19 aircraft flying over the Sierra at the 11,000-foot level looking for signs of the plane.
On Monday, a dozen CAP search planes from a base in Madera covered about 3,000 miles along a corridor between Fresno and Mammoth. The search began Sunday afternoon after Abouhamed’s wife telephoned the FAA to report that her husband had not landed as planned in one of the mountain resorts.
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