FILLMORE : 2 Victims in Plane Crash Are Identified
A plane found in the Los Padres National Forest on Monday crashed nearly four months ago on Palm Sunday, killing two Ventura men on their way from Santa Paula to Bakersfield.
Pilot Henry Thomas, 61, and passenger James Rule, 50, were identified by a logbook found near the wreckage, 11 miles west of Fillmore in an area called Bear Haven, Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said. The book, containing the plane’s maintenance record, and the plane type--a red-and-white single-engine Cessna--confirmed their identity, he said.
The Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary branch of the U.S. Air Force, searched for Thomas’ plane for two weeks in April after the heating and air-conditioner salesman failed to show up for work, Capt. Carl Kennedy said.
Thomas had not filed a flight plan when he flew out of Santa Paula Flight Center about 12:30 p.m. April 8, he said.
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