Plane registered in Zephyr Cove goes down in Watsonville
Publisher’s Note: The pilot and owner of the plane, Gary Lampert, died in the crash. Lampert had registered the plane using his Zephyr Cove address.
By J.M. Brown, Santa Cruz Sentinel
WATSONVILLE — The pilot of a single-engine airplane died Saturday after crashing into an apple orchard off Freedom Boulevard near Corralitos Creek.
The plane was near Watsonville Municipal Airport at 5,000 feet when the pilot declared an emergency at 1:25 p.m., stating his engine was on fire, authorities said. The pilot told air traffic controllers in Oakland he would try to land at the Watsonville airport, but that was his final transmission.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, originally said the plane’s tail number was N7JX, though a different number is painted on the plane. Gregor originally described the plane as a home-built, fixed-wing experimental Lancair Legacy, but later said the FAA was uncertain the make and model information was accurate.