Missing Plane Located Near Vogelsang Peak in Yosemite National Park

Date: July 8, 2013

Single Engine Plane Missing Since Mid-December 2012 

The single engine plane that was reported missing over Yosemite National Park on Monday, December 17, 2012, has been located.  The plane, which was largely intact, was spotted by a park visitor near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp on Saturday, July 6, 2013.  The Vogelsang area is in the rugged high country of Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite National Park Rangers hiked to the location of the plane on Sunday, July 7, 2013.  Nicol Wilson, the pilot of the plane, was found deceased at the location.  He has been positively identified.

Wilson, who was flying from the Santa Barbara area to the Mammoth Lakes Airport on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, disappeared during a winter storm on Monday, December 17, 2012.  After extensive searching of the Yosemite high country, the search was suspended for the winter season.  Yosemite National Park has searched extensively over the past several months, once conditions allowed for travel through the high country.

The Yosemite National Park Helitak crew was greatly assisted by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Civil Air Patrol (CAP), California Emergency Services, and YoDogs (canine search and rescue assistance) during the extensive search operation.

Yosemite National Park Rangers will be removing the plane from the backcountry over the next several weeks.