Don’t tell anyone!

Pssst. It’s hard to hide a plane crash … except in Malaysia.

A couple from San Jose, CA, flying a Cessna 182, made an emergency crash landing on Sherwin Creek Road Saturday, May 24. The couple was concerned about their family learning of the crash, and initially didn’t want to give their names. But the word got out. Fortunately, Paul and Prudence Cianci were unharmed in the accident.

The couple left San Jose on Saturday morning, landing at Bishop Airport to have lunch. They had just made a loop around the Mammoth Lakes Basin, before pointing the plane back towards San Jose. The couple’s dog Lilly, a Pomeranian/Yorkie mix, was also on board. “She loves to fly. She gets really excited anytime we mention it,” Paul said.

Paul, the pilot, was following the airway that runs south of Mono Lake and into the San Joaquin Valley, which doesn’t have any landing sites until the west side of the Sierra. “We were definitely in the mountains [when we] lost power,” he said. “A couple of minutes later and we would have been in trouble.” The National Transportation Service Board (NTSB) is still investigating what caused the plane to lose power, despite speculations at the crash site of a cylinder malfunction.

“He called in a mayday and we turned around, knowing Mammoth airport is the closest one,” Prudence said. “We tried to make it but we were getting lower and lower.”

“I knew I had to get to as low terrain as possible so I turned towards the direction of Mammoth Airport,” Paul said. “I didn’t have enough altitude to get there.”

“He said ‘look for a road.’ I looked for a road and I said ‘there’s a road to our right, a really good road to our right,’” Prudence said about spotting the gravel part of Sherwin Creek Road.

“In these situations you pick your landing spot and maneuver to get there,” Paul said. “I had to hold off the landing until a car passed.”

The pilot set the plane down about a quarter mile west of the propane tanks and large parking area behind Sierra Meadows Ranch. “It was not a bad landing, really,” his wife said.

Oliver Litchfield, who works for the Forest Service, was the first to come across the couple, but didn’t see the crash. “I was going to go for a hike but I couldn’t get around the plane,” Litchfield, who was off duty, said. “It was already on the ground and the pilots were getting out. I figured I would stop and help them.”

Litchfield called dispatch and Mammoth Lakes Fire Department (MLFD), Mammoth Lakes Police Department, Mono County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol all responded to the call, which came in at 3:13 p.m.

“They were lucky they didn’t hit any cars,” said MLFD Chief Brent Harper. “There were quite a few people out there.”

Harper said the couple was out of the plane walking around when MLFD arrived. Although Prudence complained of ankle pain, she refused medical attention. A San Jose doctor gave her a clean bill of health on Tuesday.

“The undercarriage was ripped off and the prop was bent,” Harper said. MLFD put up a dam around the aircraft and was able to contain the 10 to 20 gallons of leaking fuel.

A self-described “Silicon Valley tech guy,” Paul is a commercially licensed pilot and has been flying for five years. The couple flew to Tucson, Arizona a few weeks ago and was planning on being in Bend, Oregon this week before the incident on Saturday. “We fly regularly— at least a couple of times a month,” he said. “This was definitely a first,” he said about the crash landing.

“It was kinda scary. We’re taking some time off to take stock of things,” he said. “But as anyone [who flies] knows, flying gets in your blood.”

“I’m really glad we weren’t in the trees, that’s all I have to say,” Prudence said. “Or the propane tanks.”

Paul was unsure if the plane was repairable and is waiting for the NTSB to finish their investigation before making any further decisions. MLFD helped move the aircraft to the parking lot behind the propane tanks immediately following the crash. The insurance company transported the plane to Sacramento on Tuesday to determine the damage.

“Paul and I would like to say thank you to all the Mammoth firefighters, the rescue crew, and the emergency personnel for all their help and hard work on Saturday! We are truly grateful for the kindness and compassion everyone showed us and we appreciate everything they did. They are amazing, dedicated, and selfless human beings and we honor and repect all that they do everyday!” said Prudence.