From: Markham Johnson (mj66@earthlink.net)
Date: 08/12/02-05:10:23 PM Z
Monday, August 12, 2002
Galen Rowell Killed in Plane Crash
Rowell's Wife, Two Others, Also Killed
Seattle - August 12, 2002
Renowned climber and photographer Galen Rowell was killed Sunday morning in
a plane crash near the Bishop, California airport, according to Inyo County
officials. Rowell's wife, Barbara, pilot Tom Reed, and another passenger
identified as Carol McAfee, also perished in the violent crash short of the
runway, said Darcy Ellis, a reporter with the Inyo Register in Bishop.
The Inyo Register also reported that the county sheriff's office determined
the plane took off from Oakland where the pilot had filed a flight
plan to Bishop. The accident was reported at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The
county coroner is planning to do an FAA-required autopsy while the National
Transportation Safety Board begins its investigation.
Eyewitness reports indicated one wing of the Aero Commander twin engine
aircraft made an uncharacteristic dip as it approached the airport at a
lower than normal altitude. The aircraft crashed hard shortly thereafter.
Reports that those in the aircraft reported a mechanical problem and
imminent crash landing have not been confirmed.
The Aero Commander was owned by Reed, who was an experienced pilot with more
than 30 years in aviation.
Rowell had recently relocated to Bishop from the Bay Area. He bought a
former bank building in Bishop where he opened his Mountain Light Gallery in
May 2000.
Rowell made a name for himself as a climber doing big wall routes in
Yosemite in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His book of photography
documenting those days, The Vertical World of Yosemite, led to dozens of
other books, both photography collections and expedition accounts. High and
Wild, Many People Come Looking, and In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods
are some of Rowell's best-known books documenting his expeditions to the
Sierra, the Himalaya and Alaska.
- Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff
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