Plane crash lands on Mendocino County coast, two on board

A private plane carrying two ?people crashed Wednesday morning near Manchester State Park on the Mendocino coast when the aircraft apparently ran out of gas and the pilot attempted to land, according to a Cal Fire spokesman.

The pilot called for help at ?11:05 a.m., saying the plane had overturned as he hit the ground, said Cal Fire Capt. Jesse Porres.

“We spoke to the pilot. He said he and the other person are OK,” Porres said. “He said he ran out of gas and had to make an emergency landing. In doing that he flipped over.”

The plane was a single-engine Cessna 180, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the crash. The aircraft was built in 1967 and is registered under its tail number as a Delaware limited liability corporation, according to the FAA registry. No person’s name is listed on the registry and officials from the Sheriff’s Office, responding fire agencies and FAA said they did not know the names of the plane’s occupants, where the pair was from or where they were headed.

Redwood Coast volunteer and Cal Fire firefighters and a Coast Life Support ambulance responded to the call. A medical helicopter also was requested but the helicopter crew declined to fly because of the weather.

The plane landed on a private ranch that’s wedged between two sections of Manchester State Park, said Redwood Coast Fire Chief Mike Suddith. He did not believe anyone had witnessed the crash other than the plane’s occupants.

The park is on Highway 1, just north of the coastal village of Manchester and 7 miles north of Point Arena in Mendocino County.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.