PILOT WHO CRASHED IN JAMUL IDENTIFIED

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

East County News Service

October 25, 2022 (Jamul) – The pilot who died when his experimental plane crashed on Lyons Peak in Jamul on October 4 has been identified as Craig Houston Cornford, 57, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

Cornford lived in San Diego and was originally from Lafayette, California. According to his Facebook page, he was working as a service manager at AJ-USA Inc. at the time of his death.

The plane took off from Gillespie Field in El Cajon.  Around 12:42 p.m., a resident called 911 and reported hearing a sputtering and loud bang.  A Sheriff’s helicopter found the wreckage about an hour later near Granite Oaks Road and Lyons Peak Road. 

Cal Fire crews accessed the crash site in rugged terrain and found Cornford’s remains; the Medical Examiner reports that he died on impact. His plane, a Mustang II aircraft with tail number N887QR, was pictured on his Facebook page.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash and the NTSB is investigating, according to the Sheriff’s department.

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.