Civil Air Patrol Will Expand Its Search for Fullerton-Bound Plane
The search for five people aboard a missing twin-engine Cessna bound for Fullerton turned up nothing Sunday, but Civil Air Patrol officials said the effort would resume today.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Ray Hendrickson, who coordinated rescue efforts from Palm Springs Airport, said 49 planes from California and Arizona searched more than 10,000 square miles around the plane’s intended route from Bullhead City, Ariz., to Fullerton. Crews will begin looking in the Apple Valley area today, he said.
Pilot Richard Niemela, 27, of La Mirada and his four Orange County passengers were returning from a pleasure trip when their craft was reported missing Thursday. Officials believe that Niemela took off in bad weather.
On Sunday, Civil Air Patrol planes searched from Bullhead City south to Needles, west to Daggett and southwest to the Cajon Pass, as well as in the Hesperia and Big Bear areas, Hendrickson said.
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