Big Bear City Plane Crash Update

Big Bear, Ca, February 1, 2011, 4:00pm – The following is an update about Pilot Jose-Flores Cortez who crashed his plane into two homes on Sunday January 30^th. Cortez was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on Sunday, and was found to have a broken ankle, collapsed lung, and was put into an induced coma Sunday evening. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA) Cortez had taken off in his Twin Engine Comanche on runway 2 6 of the Big Bear City Airport, and seemed to have been circling back to the runway when he crashed. The FAA also reported that one engine was not turning at impact. Cortez hadn’t owned the plane for very long, and had little experience with twin-engine aircraft. The plane was dismantled and removed on Sunday afternoon.