Engine catches fire, pilot and passenger receive minor
injuries
Morgan Hill – A large, open field near Live Oak High School became an emergency landing strip for a single-engine Boeing E-75 bi-plane Friday afternoon when the pilot realized the plane was in trouble.
The pilot, Lennert Vonclemm, 73, was transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital with mainly bumps and bruises. He was tossed out of the plane when it flipped upside down at it was landing.
The owner of the plane, who was a passenger, received minor injuries. Javier Garcia Lopez, 46, was hanging upside down, strapped into his seat, when officials arrived.
Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson said Vonclemm was practicing some maneuvers over Anderson reservoir when the engine caught fire shortly before 1:30pm.
“He realized he needed to put the plane down quickly, realized he probably couldn’t make it back to the (South County) airport, so he found the closest field,” he said.
Vonclemm put the bi-plane went down in an empty field at the northeast corner of the intersection of Condit Road and East Main Avenue, approximately a half-mile from the Live Oak High School campus, where students were still in class.
As he brought the plane down to land, he slowed way down, Vonclemm told officials, and he put the landing gear on the ground, but the combination of a bumpy field and lift of the wind flipped the plane upside down.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – South Santa Clara County engines and paramedics responded to the field along with Morgan Hill Police officers and Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies. Condit Road north of the intersection at East Main Avenue was closed while officials cleared the scene.
Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dalia Rodriguez said though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was alerted, NTSB officials do not respond unless the crash results in a fatality. The owner of the plane, Lopez, will be responsible for removing the plane from the field, she said.
Vonclemm had started the dangerous flight from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at
