California Deputy killed in plane crash
http://www.policeone.com/police-hero...in-fiery-crash
RESNO, Calif. — A veteran Tulare County sheriff’s deputy and a civilian pilot were killed Wednesday afternoon when their single-engine plane crashed near Springville in Tulare County. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, looking visibly shaken at an evening news conference in Visalia, identified the men as Deputy Scott Ballantyne, 52, of Visalia, and pilot James Chavez, 45, of Hanford.
The crash on a mountainside happened with no warning, Boudreaux said. “There was no distress call, no mayday,” he said.
The department first learned of which occurred about 4 p.m. east of the Eagle Feather Trading Post, from eyewitnesses who said they saw the wreckage ablaze, Boudreaux said. Caltrans closed Highway 190 in the area of the crash about 4:45 p.m. and reopened the highway by 7:09 p.m.
Brian Duke, who lives near the crash site, said one of his friends watched the plane pitching from side to side before it crashed.
Shawn Winter, a resident of Springville, was driving down the hill to pick up his daughter from school when he saw something on the hillside.
“I saw the black color of smoke. There was a big old ball of flame,” he said.
Lester Lawton, who lives on Success Valley Drive, said the plane crashed just off the highway on the hill behind Eagle Feather Trading Post.
“I couldn’t even see an airplane. I could see a black spot on the ground on the hill,” he said. “It didn’t look like there was remains left.”
Ballantyne and Chavez had just completed assisting deputies on the ground with the arrest of a suspect brandishing a weapon when the crash occurred, Boudreaux said.
He said Chavez was a veteran military pilot who had flown Black Hawk helicopters and served with the California National Air Guard. Chavez, who was hired in 2014, “was a fantastic pilot,” the sheriff said. Ballantyne, who began working for the sheriff’s office in 1989, had become a full-time observer in the plane a year and a half ago, Boudreaux said.
David Williams, a reserve sergeant and retired captain who oversees the air unit, said the aircraft that crashed was a two-seater Flight Design CTLS light sport aircraft that the sheriff’s office obtained in August 2011 and had more than 3,000 flight hours. The aircraft was selected because of its reliability and number of safety features, Williams said.
The safety features included a parachute, Boudreaux said. The plane was based at the Visalia airport and typically was in the air five to six days a week, he said.
The FAA and NTSB have launched an investigation of the crash, Boudreaux said. Duke said the hillside behind his home was bathed in light Wednesday night as investigators worked at the crash site.
The sheriff’s office as well as the community are hit hard by the loss of the two employees, Boudreaux said. He asked for prayers for the victims’ families as well as the department.
“Our community is a strong one, and we will come through this, and our department is a strong one, and we will come through this,” he said.
