Wreckage of Plane With 3 Aboard Is Found in Mountains

The wreckage of a twin-engine airplane carrying an Alaska man and two teen-age boys was found in the Tehachapi Mountains on Saturday afternoon after a three-day search by Civil Air Patrol crews from Lancaster and Lompoc. There were no survivors.

The Cessna 320, piloted by John Culhane, 53, of Anchorage crashed into Liebre Twins Peak--at an elevation of about 6,100 feet--in stormy weather after 10 a.m. Wednesday, a Civil Air Patrol spokesman said.

The teen-agers were identified as Patrick Culhane, the pilot’s son, and Glenn Cope, a family friend. Their ages were not known, officials said.

Lt. Col. John McMahon of the Civil Air Patrol described Culhane as a “highly qualified pilot” who was licensed to fly helicopters and small planes for commercial purposes.

Culhane took off from Phoenix early Wednesday. He was scheduled to stop in Seattle for refueling before completing his journey to Anchorage, officials said, but the plane disappeared from radar screens at Edwards Air Force Base.

“The radar showed the plane in the Lake Hughes area . . . when it disappeared,” said Capt. Ray Tippo of the Civil Air Patrol. “There was a cold front coming through then.”

On Saturday, after days of fruitless efforts, 29 aircraft carrying 73 people from Lancaster’s Fox Field combed the mountainous Lake Hughes area between the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys. Another 11 planes and 92 people from the Lompoc Airport at Vandenberg Air Force Base searched the coastline between Santa Barbara and Monterey.

Search efforts were particularly intense Saturday because bad weather was expected to curtail flying today. A helicopter from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department discovered the wreckage.