Donnie Prince displayed wreckage he discovered in the Nevada desert
PLACERVILLE, CA - A Placerville man riding a dirt bike in the Nevada desert discovered what he believes to be the wreckage of a small jet plane.
SLIDESHOW: Pieces of plane wreckage found on dry lake bed
Donnie Prince, 60, was on a camping trip with a friend last week when he came across a debris field in a dry lake bed about 30 miles northwest of Lovelock. Prince carried out as much of the wreckage as he could in his motorcycle's saddle bags.
The former Vietnam-era Air Force mechanic identified one of the pieces as a jet turbine blade. Another part is stamped with the name "LEAR." One of the aircraft components Prince showed carried a legible serial number.
All of the parts are extremely weathered, and some appeared to show evidence of fire.
Some of the debris was buried several feet in the ground, according to Prince, leading him to believe the crash was not only high speed, but nearly vertical.
He also recovered a large bone near the wreckage that is roughly the size and shape of the bone in the human forearm. Prince said the bone crumbled when he picked it up.
Prince contacted the FAA in Reno, which referred him to a National Transportation Safety Board investigator in Los Angeles. Prince said he was told the wreckage was previously undocumented.
An inquiry to the NTSB from News10 was not immediately answered.
Prince said he was eager to solve the mystery of the desert wreckage to comfort the families of the victim or victims.
"If this is any clue of what happened to them, this could bring closure to somebody," he said.
by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net
News10/KXTV