LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into the cause of a fatal gyrocopter crash on Thursday is underway and being led by federal aviation officials.
William “Bill” Jensen, 68, of Hidden Valley Lake, was the pilot who died in the crash, said Lauren Berlinn, the sheriff’s office’s public information officer.
Berlinn said the cause of the crash is pending an investigation that’s being led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Jensen was piloting the aircraft which witnesses saw going down over Clear Lake shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday.
A search with ground and air resources began immediately, and the aircraft was located just before 12:30 p.m. Thursday in tules along the shoreline, between Konocti Vista Casino and the city of Lakeport, according to radio traffic.
Jensen was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Brian Martin had told Lake County News on Thursday that rescue personnel were challenged in reaching the site.
Part of the issue was the low water, which meant sheriff’s Marine Patrol boats could not reach the downed craft, according to reports from the scene. During the search an air boat responded to help with the recovery.
The Federal Aviation Administration accident and incident notification on the Thursday crash identified the aircraft Jensen was flying as an experimental Gyrocopter Vortex, registered to an owner in Grass Valley.
The notification’s description of the incident states, “Aircraft crashed into marshy area due to unknown circumstances.”
In August 2020, Jensen had been involved in a gyrocopter crash near Upper Lake.
Both Berlinn and NTSB records confirmed that the aircraft involved in the August 2020 crash was not the same as the one that crashed this week. The gyrocopter in the earlier incident belonged to Jensen, according to federal records.
In the 2020 crash, Jensen had a male passenger from Windsor riding with him as they were flying over the Clover Valley area in his two-seat 2017 Autogyro Cavalon.
His own narrative of the flight explained that he had dropped down for a closer look while passing over a ranch belonging to an old flying friend when, as he was making a pass, he looked backward and accidentally pulled the stick backward as well, causing the aircraft to slow down and drop altitude.
The account said the gyrocopter fell through the trees and hit the ground. While the fuselage remained intact, much of the rest of the aircraft was destroyed.
The sheriff’s office reported at the time that both Jensen and his passenger were conscious and alert, and later airlifted out of the county for medical treatment.
Federal aviation investigations can take months to complete, so a finding on the Thursday crash’s cause is not expected immediately.
Meantime, the sheriff’s office said it is conducting a coroner’s investigation.
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Investigation continues into fatal Thursday gyrocopter crash
- Elizabeth Larson
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