Downed Plane’s Pilot Saved After Passenger Hikes 5 Miles

A pilot who crashed his small airplane in a canyon south of Palm Springs was rescued Thursday after spending the night in the cold and after his passenger walked five miles down the mountain in darkness to get help despite his own injuries.

Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Jon Carlson said James Bixby’s treacherous 7 1/2-hour hike that led to the rescue of pilot Nathan Carriker displayed courage and endurance.

“It was dark, the guy was injured, and he’s walking down a mountain canyon--a drainage wash,” Carlson said. “He was crawling over rocks, through ravines and around bushes. It’s just amazing. It’s a place you wouldn’t want to walk through, even in daylight.”

Carriker, 35, who sustained a broken back and other injuries in the crash, was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. Bixby, also 35, was listed in fair condition with facial injuries.

Carlson said the men were flying in a single-engine Grumman American AA-1 aircraft up Martinez Canyon in the Santa Rosa Mountains on Wednesday afternoon. He said the plane lacked the power to gain enough altitude to clear the rise of the canyon walls, and there was not enough room to turn around.

“You’re not supposed to fly up canyons in piston-engine airplanes,” Carlson said. “They were digging themselves into a hole.”

The plane crashed into boulders as the ground rose swiftly in front of it, Carlson said. Bixby helped Carriker out of the plane and covered him with a tarp to keep him warm as temperatures began to drop toward freezing. He took the aircraft’s transponder--which electronically signals its location--and began his trek.

Just before midnight Wednesday, Bixby reached a roadside pay phone near the small community of Oasis and called 911.

Authorities mounted a rescue effort but were thwarted by darkness. On Thursday, the wreckage was spotted by a helicopter, and Carriker was airlifted out.