At approximately 2:00 p.m. on December 26, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a pilot who witnessed a crash landing of a plane in Nogales. Three men and one woman were injured in the accident and were airlifted to a Tucson hospital.
Engine trouble forced the landing of the single-engine Cessna. Just after taking off from Nogales International Airport, the plane crashed into a hilly area approximatly one half-mile north of the runway.
The pilot and passengers were extracted from the plane by first responders from the Nogales Suburban Fire District, using the Jaws of Life.
The 57-year-old man piloting the plane sustained the most serious injuries, Estrada and Parra said. All four of the injured were airlifted to Banner – University Medical Center.
The Cessna’s destination had been “a return to California,” Estrada said, but neither he nor Parra knew where in that state. No other information was available.