Pilot Flying Solo Killed in California Plane Crash

Palm Springs, CAA pilot died in a recent plane crash after the small aircraft took off from Palm Springs, California, the Desert Sun reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Christopher Julius Petrikas, 65, of Riverside, California, was killed in the crash, according to the Riverside County coroner's office. Petrikas reportedly left Palm Springs International Airport in his twin-engine plane heading for Chino Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department told the news provider that the pilot's relatives called authorities when the flight had not arrived. The flight was scheduled to take just 30 minutes, the news source said.

John Rowe, a state parks spokesman, told the news source that Petrikas was killed on impact. A coroner was working to remove the man's body from the site of the crash, which is located on a mountainside without road access.

"The conditions are absolutely miserable. There's a steady rain at about half-inch to three-quarters of an inch an hour, if not more," Rowe told the news source.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been 212 fatal civilian aviation crashes in 2010 as of the end of September.