Remembering a pilot lost in the Sierra

Geoff Loyns took his last thermal flight last Friday. On that fateful day he soared his Ventus motorglider all the way from Minden-Tahoe airport to Boundary Peak in the Owens Valley, near Bishop, California. He knew and loved this entire area better than anyone, and had made that same 100 mile journey at least 100 times before. In fact, it was normal for him to soar very far beyond that point and still return home by sundown. Geoff relocated from California to Minden in 1999 specifically attracted by the best soaring conditions in the world, as well as a better quality of life. He was a top class cabinet-maker who learned his trade to incredible accuracy while making metal casting molds in Wales, U.K. His perfectionist attitude spilled over from his trade to his aviation.

Geoff was about 80 miles outbound at about 3 p.m. last Friday when he was last heard from on the aircraft radio. He was at about 17,000 feet and doing OK at that point. No other radio calls were heard and when he did not call in or return on Friday evening the alarm was raised early on Saturday. You see, it would not have been uncommon for a glider to have made an unplanned out-landing at a remote place with no radio or cell phone coverage. Nevada's abundant dry lake beds serve as inviting landing strips in a pinch. In the past, pilots have just spent the night in the cockpit quite comfortably and walked to get help the next day.

The search on Saturday involved the Civil Air Patrol in what they call a "route search"; however, no-one really knew where Geoff was going on Friday so the search area was vast. A handful of private powered aircraft also took to the skies on Saturday to supplement CAP quite informally and they all searched a very wide area down to Bishop and Lone Pine and over eastwards to Tonopah and Hadley. No joy.

By late on Saturday everyone was becoming very worried since there were no sightings and no radio or phone contact. Geoff was very well known around the airport for his personality, his accomplishments, and his notoriety. You see Geoff held three world records in hang gliding in the 1980s and the same skill and dedication translated directly to sailplanes with similar results. Just a few weeks ago he had flown a record flight all the way across Nevada and into Utah Ð and back again! With that background, the anxiety was thick in the air on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning at 6 a.m. about a dozen pilots and other concerned folks gathered at the Minden airport restaurant to augment the Civil Air Patrol. The CAP guys had decided to change tactics to what they call a "grid search". They have the entire state mapped out in grid segments precisely for this purpose. They train incessantly for just such a scenario. Nevada is a particularly tough neighborhood for air searches due to vast uninhabited areas and the most mountains of any state in the 48.

Some concerned private pilots and their observers decided to concentrate on the likely areas of flight, armed with knowledge of the terrain and the weather on Friday, and Geoff's soaring habits. The soaring weather conditions were not particularly good on Friday Ð it was a challenging day and that means tucking up close to the terrain to maintain altitude. This is a recipe for turbulence and Geoff knew that better than anyone after tumbling his hang glider near Bishop and descending safely under canopy about 20 years ago. With all this in mind, about 5 private planes fanned out to the south east from Minden-Tahoe airport. After about an hour's search a sparkling but subtle reflection was detected high up on the face of Boundary Peak Ð so named because it marks the state line between Nevada and California. Sure enough, a few close fly-by's confirmed white wreckage above the 10,000 foot altitude line. You could feel the deep emotions running across the airwaves between all the participating search aircraft.

Within five minutes the GPS coordinates were relayed to Civil Air Patrol and then to Fallon Naval Air Station. The navy had a fully-equipped helicopter in the air in 40 minutes. The worst case scenario was confirmed about an hour later as the Navy helicopter was on site and lowered a medic to the extremely steep and wooded mountainside. As the operation shifted from rescue to recovery the Mono County Sheriff then took charge since the site was about two miles inside their jurisdiction.

There was probably a GPS logger on board and if it survived it will provide more information. Several scenarios have been speculated, but it seems that a combination of turbulence and advanced flying techniques, or possibly a medical emergency, will be at the root of it. The authorities are still investigating. Our region presents some of the most challenging weather and terrain to be found anywhere. The soaring community will spend many hours learning the lessons from this accident.

Geoff is survived by his daughter, grand daughter, sister and sister's family, all of whom reside in Wales, UK. They will fly in to take care of the estate and celebrate the life of an incredible pilot with his wide band of friends and admirers. The family particularly wants to express a very deep thank you to all who helped in the search and recovery, as well as those on the ground who deeply care. The aviation community at Minden-Tahoe airport, including several visiting pilots, has demonstrated an impressive willingness and ability to spring into action spontaneously. It is heartwarming and reassuring to know that we have this asset to supplement the professionals in the Civil Air Patrol and our neighbors at Naval Air Station Fallon.

-- Jim Herd is a Gardnerville resident and 26 year close friend of Mr. Loyns.