4 p.m. update | Pilot dies after small plane crashes in Grass Valley
KCRA 3
[{'start': '0.133', 'end': '3.002', 'text': "TO TAKE ON TARIFFS TO HELP SMALL  BUSINESSES.  A PILOT DIED TODAY WHILE TRYING  TO LAND HIS SMALL ENGINE PLANE  AT THE NEVADA COUNTY AIRPORT.  THIS HAPPENED ABOUT 815 THIS  MORNING.  THE AIRPORT MANAGER TELLS KCRA  THREE NEWS.  THE PILOT REPORTED ENGINE  TROUBLE SHORTLY BEFORE THE CRASH  ON WHISPERING PINES LANE AND  GRASS VALLEY.  THAT'S JUST ABOUT A MILE FROM  THE AIRPORT.  THANKS FOR JOINING US AT FOUR.  I'M LISA GONZALEZ AND I'M KURTIS  MING.  KCRA 3'S MICHELLE BANDUR IS LIVE  IN GRASS VALLEY.  AUTHORITIES JUST HELD A NEWS  CONFERENCE IDENTIFYING THAT  PILOT MICHELLE.  WELL, CURTIS.  YES, GRASS VALLEY POLICE SAY THE  PILOT WAS ROBERT LUND OF NEW  CASTLE AND THAT HE WAS IN HIS  MID 60S AND SAY HE WAS A  LICENSED PILOT AND EXPERIENCED  PILOT WITH DECADES OF FLYING  EXPERIENCE.  SO THE SCENE HERE, IT IS STILL  ACTIVE HERE.  AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WRECKAGE  STILL LAYING ON THE SIDE OF THE  ROAD.  WE'VE GOT INVESTIGATORS WITH THE  NTSB AND THE FAA HERE ON SCENE.  THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THAT  WRECKAGE DETERMINING WHY MR.  LUND CALLED A MAYDAY, SAYING HE  HAD ENGINE FAILURE AND THEN  CRASHING HERE.  NOW, HE DID CRASH HIS PLANE  RIGHT NEXT TO THE WHISPERING  PINE LANES ROAD AFTER 8:00 THIS  MORNING.  GRASS VALLEY POLICE SAY LUND  TOOK OFF FROM AUBURN AT 803 THIS  MORNING AND HIT THE GROUND IN  GRASS VALLEY ABOUT 14 MINUTES  LATER, AROUND 819, THE PILOT  TRAVELED THE DISTANCE OF ABOUT  24 MILES.  LUND WAS FLYING A 1977 CESSNA  CARDINAL.  IT'S A SMALL ENGINE PLANE, AND  HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT THE  NEVADA COUNTY AIRPORT, WHICH IS  ABOUT A MILE FROM HERE, THE  AIRPORT MANAGER TELLS ME.  BEBECAUSE OF THE WIND DIRECTION,  PILOTS HAD TO USE A RUNWAY WHERE  THEY FLEW OVER THE AIRPORT AND  THEN TURNED TO MAKE THEIR  LANDING.  THE PILOT CALLED FOR MAYDAY  REPORTING ENGINE TROUBLE.  AS TRAGIC AS IT WAS, WE LOOK AT  THIS AREA AND AND IT'S PROXIMITY  TO THE AIRPORT AND BUSINESS  DISTRICTS, AND THIS AREA BECOMES  EXTREMELY POPULATED DURING  BUSINESS HOURS.  WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE THAT  MR. LUND, HAVING EXPERIENCED  SOME SORT OF EMERGENCY IN HIS  AIRCRAFT, DID EVERY COURAGEOUS  ACTION THAT HE COULD TO AVOID  POPULATED AREAS AND ROADWAYS AND  ULTIMATELY PERISHED DURING THE  INCIDENT.  WE JUST HAD MAYDAY, MAYDAY,  MAYDAY ENGINE FAILURE.  AND SO THAT JUST KIND OF CLUES  ANYBODY THAT'S ON THE RADIO TO  TRY AND FIGURE OUT AND PINPOINT  A LOCATION.  SO.  YES.  AND MR. EDWARDS, THE AIRPORT  MANAGER, TOOK IT A STEP FURTHER.  HE HOPPED IN HIS CAR TO TRY TO  FIND THE PLANE, AND HE DID COME  UPON THE WRECKAGE.  YOU SEE HERE, RIGHT BEFORE FIRST  RESPONDERS ARRIVE.  HE WAS PRETTY SHAKEN UP.  HE TELLS ME, YOU KNOW, SEEING  THIS, AND IT'S BEEN PRETTY  DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO TALK TO  OTHER WITNESSES WHO ALSO RAN TO  THE SCENE TO TRY TO HELP THE  PILOT.  BUT THEY DO TELL US THAT HE WAS  KILLED ON IMPACT.  REPORTING LIVE IN GRASS VALLEY,  MICHELLE BANDUR KCRA THREE NEWS.  SO, MICHELLE, AT THIS POINT, I  MEAN, WHAT COMES NEXT IN THIS  INVESTIGATION?  YEAH, IT WILL BE A LONG  INVESTIGATION WITH THE FEDERAL  AGENCIES.  THE NTSB DOES HAVE A COUPLE  INVESTIGATORS ON SCENE NOW, BUT  WE'RE TOLD THAT A BIGGER TEAM  WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW GOING  THROUGH THAT WRECKAGE, TRYING TO  FIGURE OUT WHY HE HAD ENGINE  FAILURE.  THEY DID SAY THAT PLANE DID HAVE  A MAINTENANCE CHECK LAST MONTH  AND THAT DID THAT.  HE DID PASS THAT.  SO THERE'S JUST ALL KIND OF  FACTORS TO LOOK INTO TO  DETERMINE EXACTLY WHY HE WENT  DOWN HERE.  OUTSIDE OF THE AIRPORT.  THEY WILL KEEP ALSO WHISPERING  PINES LANE CLOSED OVERNIGHT TO  PROTECT THE SCENE SO THAT THEY  CAN DO A FULL INVESTIGATION  HERE.  SO IF YOU'RE IN THIS AREA,  YO"}]