Bodies of 2 Men Found in Plane Wreckage Near Ojai

Two bodies found in the wreckage of a small plane Thursday are believed to be those of two missing Palos Verdes Peninsula pilots who disappeared Tuesday while flying home from Reno.

A Civil Air Patrol pilot spotted the crash site at 12:45 p.m. about 15 miles north of Ojai near Reyes Peak, a 7,500-foot-high portion of Pine Mountain in northwestern Ventura County.

Ground crews struggled through the rugged terrain of Los Padres National Forest for more than two hours to reach the wreckage, where they found the bodies, Ventura County Sheriff’s Watch Commander Mike Gullon said.

The discovery ended an extensive two-day ground and air search for Milton Smith, 64, of Rancho Palos Verdes and William Manfrass, 68, of Palos Verdes Estates, both retired United Airlines flight captains.

In Reno for Races

The men left Reno in a twin-engine Cessna 310 about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, heading to Torrance Municipal Airport after enjoying a long weekend at the Reno Air Races, Civil Air Patrol Lt. Col. Bob Fowler said.

Smith, who was piloting the plane, was last heard from shortly after noon Tuesday when he made a routine radio call to report that he was flying near the town of Avenal, in the San Joaquin Valley, at an altitude of about 10,500 feet.

Other pilots who left Reno around the same time reported clear skies and smooth flying into Southern California, Fowler said.

Friends contacted federal officials late Tuesday when the men, whom they described as excellent pilots, failed to arrive in Torrance. Fowler said Civil Air Patrol volunteers started their search at 3:25 a.m. Wednesday, first checking at Torrance airport to make sure Smith’s and Manfrass’ cars were at the hangar where they kept their plane.

Fifteen volunteer air crews searched more than 500 square miles of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Kern counties before finding the wreckage, Fowler said.

An emergency locater beacon that should have sent out a distress signal after the plane’s impact was never heard by the search crews or by an orbiting satellite designed to listen for the tone.

“Occasionally, something goes down in a canyon and only emits when you hit it at the right angle,” Fowler said, noting that searchers had not reported what kind of terrain the plane was found in.

‘Very Rugged’

Searchers at first believed the wreckage was in Santa Barbara County, so that department’s helicopter helped verify the plane’s location, Gullon said. When it became clear that the site was in Ventura County, responsibility shifted.

“Radio communication in that part of the forest is very poor,” Gullon said. “It’s a very rugged part of the county. . . . We have to wait for the search-and-rescue team and the coroner’s people to return some time tonight before we know many details.”

Relatives and friends of Manfrass could not be reached Thursday night, but a friend of the Smith family read a brief biography that described Smith as a “great and loving father and well-remembered by all his friends.”

Smith, a 33-year United Airlines pilot who retired four years ago, began his flying career during World War II as an Army Air Corps navigator for B-17s flying out of England.

He later became an Air National Guard and Air Force pilot before moving on to captain United Airlines DC-8s and DC-10s.

“He loved to be with people,” his wife, Priscilla, said during a brief interview. “He was a fine person and wonderful husband and extremely good father. You can’t say that of too many people.”

In addition to his wife, Smith is survived by a daughter, Veve Cobbs of Belleville, Wis.; two sons, Jeffrey, a pilot for Northwest Airlines, and Matthew, assistant manager of Dive & Surf in Redondo Beach; two grandchildren; four sisters and a brother.

Times Staff Writer George Stein contributed to this report.