Updates released from the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office, California, on Thursday, June 25th, disclosed the identity of the pilot of the ill-fated Cessna 175 single-engine aircraft that crashed in Mentone. Christopher Hark, 64, of Big Bear City, is the registered owner of the plane.
The federal report by the National Transportation Safety Board, also released on Thursday, revealed that there’s a chance the man did not have a valid license to operate an aircraft. Hark’s name is not in any FAA record for licensed pilots, but the agency is searching further to confirm fully.
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On Friday, June 5th, the pilot took off from Big Bear City Airport and was en route to Redlands Airport when the Cessna crashed 16 minutes into the flight. The accident report disclosed that the incident killed Hark, and his two passengers, Sheryl Doucette, 40, and her daughter, Gineva Doucette, 11, both of Big Bear Lake.
According to the NTSB report, the plane’s flight path looped over itself and kept descending until it hit the ground in a hilly area where conditions were weak enough for instrument flight conditions. Aviation expert Robert Katz said the circumstances of changing weather with a low ceiling, and hazy visibility made flying on the day of the crash unsafe in the area.
The safety board said no flight plan was filed for the flight, and the plane’s reported altitude was 2, 775 feet above sea level, in a hilly area that aviation maps show has an elevation of 3, 534 feet. After Hark took off from the airport at 7:45 a.m., he climbed 9, 300 feet before starting the descent that led to the crash.
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