Brandi - 11-12-2008 at 12:37 PM
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the family of Douglas Bowles has informed me of his passing. Doug died on Sunday, November 9, 2008 as
the result of an airplane crash.
Family and friends will be gathering on Friday, November 14 @ 5:00 p.m. to celebrate his life at the Mile High Airport Cafe at the Hesperia Airport,
7070 Summit Valley Road, Hesperia. All are welcome to join.
He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Paulina - 11-12-2008 at 01:05 PM
Brandi,
I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your good friend. Our thoughts will be with you, his friends and family.
Paulina, Dern y Cody
capt. mike - 11-12-2008 at 02:26 PM
Spent many times talking with Doug by phone as we liked to check in on baja info a lot.
this is very sad news. He was a very active and enthusiastic baja flyer.
RIP Doug.
Rest in Peace Doug...
Juan del Rio - 11-12-2008 at 02:28 PM
He really loved Baja for sure. I hope you're up there flying with the Angels.
DianaT - 11-12-2008 at 07:27 PM
So very sorry for the loss of your friend. Our thoughts are with his family.
Diane and John
El Camote - 11-12-2008 at 07:40 PM
He was the best entertainment act at Alfy's. The man could spin a yarn like a propeller!
What a great loss.
David K - 11-12-2008 at 08:47 PM
Very sad to be sure...
Doug (called 'Doooglas' by locals) was our host many times at Alfonsina's... After Baja Mur and I went to Mision Santa Maria in 1999, we went to
Alfonsina's and stayed at Doug's place a few nights... I enjoyed the first and maybe only hot tub at Alfonsina's after our ordeal on the Widowmaker
grade.
Doug took us flying over Mision Santa Maria and the canyon below so we could see where we were just days before...
I flew home to Oceanside with Doug from Gonzaga Bay... it was a nice flight, my first in a small plane over Baja.
In 2002, Doug invited my son and I camping nearby to join him for Thanksgiving dinner at Alfonsina's:
A very cool pilot & amigo... Vaya con los angeles, Doooglas!
The Sculpin - 11-12-2008 at 10:14 PM
From the North County Times
ENCINITAS: Local man killed in San Bernardino plane crash
By SARAH GORDON - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 12, 2008 5:08 PM PST ∞
An Encinitas man was among four people killed in a weekend plane crash in the San Bernardino Mountains.
David Rodney Helland, 60, was a passenger aboard a small airplane that crashed into San Gorgonio Mountain as it flew from Baja California to Hesperia
on Sunday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department said Tuesday.
Helland's daughter, Sarah Santos, 31, of Encinitas, said Wednesday that her father had lived in the Encinitas neighborhood of Olivenhain with his
wife, Barbara, for over 30 years.
Originally from El Cajon, Helland graduated with a degree in biology from UC San Diego and ultimately settled into a long career as a computer
engineer at SAIC in Sorrento Valley, Santos said.
On Sunday, he was returning from a weekend trip to Gonzaga Bay, a favorite Mexican getaway where he frequently visited an old friend, Santos said.
"I think they had a great time that weekend," Santos said of her father and the others on the plane.
Helland normally drove to the Mexican fishing town about 400 miles away equipped with a GPS navigational system that sent automatic computer updates
notifying his wife and two adult daughters of his location, Santos said.
But last weekend, the plane's pilot, 74-year-old Douglas Ralph Bowles of Hesperia, called Helland to offer him the fourth seat in the plane that would
also carry Bowles's 28-year old grandson, Joshua Daniel Chlebek of North Hollywood, and his friend, Oludare Ibiyemi Akinwunmi, 29, of Sun Valley.
Santos said her father knew Bowles from the regular trips the pilot made to Gonzaga Bay.
On the return trip, the plane disappeared from radar during a storm over the summit of San Gorgonio shortly before noon, the Sheriff's-Coroner said.
Santos said her family was hoping for the best when they learned the plane was missing, but on Monday all four men aboard the plane were confirmed
dead when authorities discovered the wreckage on a west slope of the mountain.
The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating the accident.
Helland loved spending time with his family, including his three young grandchildren, Santos said. He liked building projects and had just completed a
wooden play castle for the children.
"He was such a good father, such a good grandfather," she said.
Contact staff writer Sarah Gordon at (760) 740-3517 or sgordon@nctimes.com
Pompano - 11-13-2008 at 02:49 AM
So sad, first Skeet's friend, now another Baja pilot lost. The death of anyone diminishes us all. My sincere condolences to friends and family.
fdt - 11-13-2008 at 07:01 AM
I am so sorry about this.
CaboKimberly - 11-13-2008 at 09:54 AM
The accident report will say it was continued VFR flight into IFR conditions. They tried to fly the Banning Pass in a winter storm.
Kell-Baja - 11-13-2008 at 02:55 PM
What a tragic loss. Prayers to the family & friends.
capt. mike - 11-13-2008 at 03:51 PM
any number of things might have happend and i am loathe to speculate since there were 4 fatalities.
WX can certainly be a huge factor as are mechanical and sometimes pilot issues. Even if Doug was current in IFR mode the winds associated with that
passing cold front Sun suggested that all light aircraft avoid areas near mountainous terrain. The NWS had issued sigmets which apply to large AC as
well as the little guys.
when that happens small planes need to keep clear of all areas affected by the sigmets. Airmets are bad enough and apply generally to only small AC.
i followed that system from my armchair Sun as the AZ Sams were returning from baja same day and by the time they got to southern AZ the WX had gotten
very crappy. winds were intense.
i like to fly in the soup every once in a while to keep IFR current but the most frightening times i have had to endure were in clear air close to
mountainous terrain with frontal activity about. More than once i've said let's turn back and wait this out.