November 23rd Plane Crash Results in One Fatality
(San Andreas, CA) on 11/23/12 at approx. 3:45 PM, Calaveras County
Sheriff’s deputies and local and state fire departments responded to a
report of a single plan crash in a field located on the east side of
Highway 49, approx. ¾ mile south of the Calaveras County Airport. The
pilot, identified as Russell Hackler (68) of Danville, was pronounced
deceased at the scene.
According to witness statements, Mr. Hackler was testing a
self-built single-engine amphibious plane on the day of the crash. On
the day’s third test flight of the plane the plane went into a spiral.
Around the time the plane went into the spiral the right wing was seen
tearing away from the fuselage. Mr. Hackler’s son, Russell Hackler, Jr.
(38) of Livermore, who was watching the test flight from the airport,
saw the plane fall from the sky, but did not see it crash. Mr. Hackler
was reported to have been an experienced pilot.
The exact cause of the crash is unknown at this time. The
investigation has been turned over to the Federal Aviation
Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. It is
expected that it will take several weeks before a cause of the crash is
determined.
