Lubbock Civil Air Patrol Squadron helps find pilot's missing plane after crash

Avery Dishaw
·1 min read
The Lubbock Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol helped recover this missing plane after a crash the evening of Jan. 13 in Dawson County.
The Lubbock Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol helped recover this missing plane after a crash the evening of Jan. 13 in Dawson County.

The Lubbock Civil Air Patrol Squadron assisted a 70-year-old pilot who was forced to walk for several miles in rural Dawson County after his plane crashed.

The Civil Air Patrol Squadron was notified about a plane missing east of Lamesa early on Jan. 14.

Dennis Harrington, a 70-year-old pilot, was flying a Piper Tri-Pacer plane when he lost control and crashed into the rocky terrain of Dawson County the night of Jan. 13.

Harrington suffered minor injuries and walked to a distant road to find help.

A 70-year-old man crossed miles of rough terrain in Dawson County after a crash the evening of Jan.13.
A 70-year-old man crossed miles of rough terrain in Dawson County after a crash the evening of Jan.13.

The Lubbock Squadron dispatched a ground team to aid Dawson County’s EMS department to locate the crash site and recover the plane. Nobody, including the pilot, knew where the crash had occurred.

Firefighter Levi Roberts said Harrington was flying to Lamesa to stop and refuel on his way to Hobbs, New Mexico.

One member of the Lubbock Squadron played a key role in the discovery of the aircraft’s crash location with his personal drone. The drone was able to cover 40% of the search area in one flight.

Ground teams were able to quickly determine what area to focus on during the search, which led to them successfully finding the missing plane.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock Civil Air Patrol Squadron helps find missing plane after crash