Plane Bound for Fullerton Feared Lost in Desert

Search planes scoured the Southern California desert Friday for a twin-engine plane with five people aboard that disappeared on a flight from Bullhead City, Ariz., to Fullerton.

Civil Air Patrol officials said that more than a dozen search planes returned at dusk without finding any sign of the plane, but they planned to launch as many as 50 planes today to continue the search.

Officials said the group had spent Wednesday night in the gambling town of Laughlin, Nev., across the Colorado River from Bullhead City, and checked out of their hotel Thursday at noon for a flight back to Fullerton. Although no one is certain, the Cessna Skymaster apparently left the Bullhead City area sometime after 3 p.m. It was due back at Fullerton late Thursday afternoon.

The pilot of the plane was identified as Richard Niemela, 37, of La Mirada.

“We are hoping it is bad weather . . . and he set it down in the desert, on an old dirt road or something,” said the pilot’s brother, Ed Niemela, 29, also of La Mirada. “It can get incredibly rough out there, but he knows the terrain and flies with charts. You just fly higher than the highest peak in the area.”

Fullerton spokeswoman Sylvia Palmer Mudrick identified the passengers as Kathy Bird, 33, and her husband, Jeff Bird, 32, of Fullerton; Jeff’s brother, Bradley Bird, 33, of Placentia; and Natalie Erickson, age unknown, of Placentia. Ed Niemela said Erickson is his brother’s girlfriend.

The cars of those aboard were still parked at the Fullerton Airport Friday morning.

Neighbors of Kathy and Jeff Bird said the couple, who live near the Fullerton Airport, have two children who are being cared for by grandparents. They said the Birds occasionally made trips to Bullhead City, the Colorado River and Laughlin. It was the grandparents who contacted Fullerton police when the plane had not arrived back at Fullerton Thursday evening.

Ed Niemela said that Kathy Bird and his brother, Richard, work for Lucky Food Center and that Jeff Bird is employed by Suzuki Motor Corp.

According to FAA spokesman Fred O’Donnell, Richard Niemela was flying visually and did not file a flight plan before leaving Bullhead City. Civil Air Patrol officials said he had called Prescott, Ariz., by telephone for a weather report shortly before noon Thursday.

“He knew the weather and he was familiar with the route,” said Lt. Col. Edward Crankshaw. “Unfortunately, the western United States and particularly California can be real nasty when it comes to searches. There’s vertical terrain, deep cliffs and areas covered by forest. There’s winds that can rip you out of the sky and get you in real trouble.”

A cold front moved into Southern California on Thursday, creating high winds in the deserts and snow in the mountains.

Crankshaw said Richard Niemela has 400 hours of flying time. His brother said he is a good pilot who “wouldn’t have done anything stupid.”

“I try not to worry about the worst,” Ed Niemela said. “No reason to get myself worked up. He’s probably just stranded out there. He is a good pilot.”

Airports were asked by the FAA Friday to report any planes fitting the description of the missing aircraft, but none was sighted, authorities said.

Civil Air Patrol planes Friday morning searched the two most likely routes Niemela would have flown. The pilots did not see any wreckage or pick up any electronic signals from the Emergency Locator Transmitter aboard the plane.

“This may not mean anything or it may mean everything,” Crankshaw said.

Searchers divided the area into sectors later Friday and began crisscrossing the desert and mountains in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Rick Carpenter, a supervisor at one of two airports at Bullhead City, said, “Someone up at the new airport remembers hearing from him (the pilot), but it is an uncontrolled airport . . . (where) you can just wait until it’s clear and head out.”

Ed Niemela, who is also a pilot, said there are only two routes his brother could have used on the trip, over Banning Pass or farther north over Cajon Pass. The plane could have followed Interstate 15 or Interstate 10.

Civil Air Patrol officials said if the weather was really bad, a plane could fly farther south through El Centro. They estimated the flight from Bullhead City to Fullerton--about 250 miles--at about 90 minutes, depending on the winds and the altitude at which the plane was cruising.

The Cessna 336, with red and blue trim, can carry up to six people and can cruise up to 150 knots. Its engines are set in the plane’s fuselage, one forward and one aft, and a single wing passes over the cockpit. The missing plane bears the registration number N3848U and is usually kept at El Monte Airport.

Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein said the plane took off from Fullerton Airport on Wednesday, and the group stayed in a Laughlin hotel that night. “We know they checked out of the hotel around noon Thursday,” Klein said.

Ironically, a Civil Air Patrol training session was planned for this weekend at Palm Springs, Crankshaw said. Those planes and ground personnel will be used in the search instead, he said.

“This has turned into the real thing,” he said.

Times staff writers Bob Elston and Kevin Johnson contributed to this report.