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September 8, 2008 Patterson, CA

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BREAKING NEWS: Man survives cropduster crash

Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator

Thursday, 10 July 2008

Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

A Modesto man walked away from a crop-duster plane crash this morning after the plane slammed into a power pole and landed in a melon field south of Patterson.

Shawn Yoppini, 45, a pilot for Westley-based Valley Cropdusters was flying an Ag-Cat at about 5:30 a.m. when he hit the pole on Marshall Road about one quarter of a mile east of Davis Road, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

A co-worker said Yoppini returned home Thursday afternoon and planned to show up to work on Friday.

The flaming wreckage looked dire at first, leading investigators to believe Yoppini had died until they received a call from Yoppini saying he was OK.

“I couldn’t find the pilot, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God,’” said Deputy Clarence “Barney” Barnes of the sheriff’s department.

Sheriff’s spokesman Royjindar Singh said Yoppini jumped out of the plane and escaped the flames. The pilot was wearing a helmet, but still had a gash on his head, fellow pilot Dave Stein and sheriff's investigators said.

A Patterson city employee saw flames from a distance while driving nearby and reported the incident to emergency dispatchers, said Sgt. Mario Moreno of the sheriff’s department.

Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

The crash sheared the top portion of the power pole, and the plane continued to pull along power lines attached to it before landing several hundred yards to the northwest, according to police and Turlock Irrigation District staffers.

As a result, 1,830 TID customers in eastern and rural Patterson and Crows Landing lost power, TID spokeswoman Michelle Reimers said. Most homes had their power restored within 19 minutes, Reimers said, but some customers were without power until about 10:15 a.m.

Barnes said it appeared Yoppini was unfamiliar with the field, saying the grower who farms the land indicated the field normally was sprayed by another company.

However, Stein said Yoppini had lots of experience spraying fields in the area. He has been a pilot for about 25 years at Valley Cropdusters, which is owned by Yoppini’s family, and has logged more than 14,000 flying hours, Stein said.

“He’s been there all of his life,” Stein said.

Stein said it is easy for brown power poles to blend into the background with nearby dirt paths when one is flying, indicating that likely caused the accident.

An irrigator working nearby drove Yoppini to Valley Cropdusters after the accident, where Yoppini washed up, Stein said. From there, he drove to Del Puerto Health Center, which was closed, before driving to Memorial.

Much of the cockpit of the crumpled plane was incinerated following the accident. The engine of the plane attached to a broken propeller lay several yards in front of the plane.

Stanislaus County Hazardous Materials officials investigated the scene early in the morning. No environmental cleanup would likely be needed because flames consumed most of the engine’s diesel and oil, and the sprays inside the plane were diluted for regular use, said Sonya Harrigfeld, director of Stanislaus County’s Department of Environmental Resources.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be the primary agency investigating the accident. Results of such investigations can take 12 to 18 months to complete, according to the NTSB Web site.

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