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From Cindy
Brickner Caracole Soaring
Friends:
This has been
a torturous week for us.
Mark Navarre
went soaring with several friends on Sunday, July 3, and discontinued
his
position
reporting shortly after 3 pm. It was a normal, nice summer afternoon on
the Sierras,
working
altitudes of 14 ~ 15,000 msl were possible. The other pilots returned home
to California City
by 6 pm, and
no one had heard from Mark. We tried radio relays on 123.3 and 123.5 from
ATC
asking pilots
to call down while transitioning. No answer was
received.
From Cal
City, three pilots departed in a Mooney to the area to give Mark a
chance to signal to their
overflight. Based on our phone request, the
Pawnee from Santa Ynez, based at Bishop that weekend
also searched
for the hour before dark. Inyo County Search and
Rescue was
notified
about 8:30 pm, and they prepared to start searching early
Monday.
Monday
morning three aircraft flown by glider pilots (Pawnee, Mooney, Bonanza)
and a Taifun
motorglider
searched the area between Onion Valley and Coyote Flats, before
Inyo S & R
required them to clear some airspace while the CHP
helicopter worked. Sheriff's personnel
found the
wreckage and confirmed Mark's passage at approximately 1 pm. The fact that
Mark gave
regular
position reports, and was seen by a southbound pilot, limited the search area to
be pertinent.
No matter the
speed of the response, Mark was lost immediately.
The glider
impacted steep terrain at 11,700 msl, south west of Coyote Flats. We have
no access
to any flight
recorder data, so it is impossible to conjecture what may have happened.
If data
becomes
available later, we will attempt to pass useful knowledge to soaring
pilots. There was
no unusual
weather, it was CAVU with scattered cu at ~ 15,500 over the middle Sierra.
We still do not
have access
to the exact crash coordinates, so speculation is pointless. The
approximate site was
later
overflown for two hours by us, without locating the glider against snow covered
background.
The only
pertinent comment that can be made at this time is for soaring pilots to provide
more
separation
between themselves and terrain in all conditions, acknowledge incremental
development of skills
and respect
personal limitations.
The family
eagerly wishes the attendance of flying friends at Mark's service, and a family
gathering to follow.
Services are
set for
Saturday, July 9,
10:00 a.m.
The San
Antonio Catholic Church at
5800 E. Santa
Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim, CA 92807
In lieu of
flowers, donations should be made in Mark's memory to
SSA - Youth
Soaring Flight Scholarships or Soaring
Safety Education.
PO Box 2100,
Hobbs, NM 88241.
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