SANTA BARBARA, Calif.
-- The search is on for a small plane and its pilot.
The pilot, Nicol
Wilson, of Solvang was flying from Santa Ynez to Mammoth Lakes but disappeared
from radar somewhere over Yosemite National Park.
The plane took off
from Santa Ynez Airport yesterday around 12 noon.
Only the pilot was on the single engine Mooney M20F that
left Santa Ynez from Mammoth Lakes airport Monday evening.
But it never arrived.
"(It) went missing somewhere over
Yosemite National Park around 12:30pm," says Yosemite National Park Ranger Kari
Cobb.
"At this point,
we don't know where the plane is and hoping we may come across some signs of
where the plane may be."
His wife reported the plane
missing Tuesday morning.
The plane went off radar as it flew over the North Dome
area of the park.
"The area where the plane was
last detected is a seasonally closed portion of the park," says Cobb. "There's
no access by foot or vehicle so our search efforts are strictly air at this
point."
The ranger says Wilson is an
experienced pilot but doesn't know what could cause his radar signal to go off.
The Air Force, California Highway
Patrol and Civil Air Patrol are assisting in the search. They will search from
the skies from day until night.
"At this point, we don't know
where it's at," says Cobb. "We don't even know if it's in the
park."
