Just bumps, bruises for pilot after crash

SAN MARTIN >> The pilot of a skydiving aircraft walked away with just minor injuries Saturday evening after the Cessna he was flying apparently lost power and crash landed on a Highway 101 onramp, just short of an airport runway.

The single-engine Cessna 182, which is owned by a Montana-based aviation company and used by the San Jose Skydiving Center, was returning from releasing parachutists and on its final approach to the San Martin Airport shortly after 5 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol and skydiving company.

Pilot Dhar Mrityunjoy, 30, “reported engine problems” before the Cessna crash landed on the onramp just south of E. San Martin Ave, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane came to rest against a pole for traffic metering lights, about 500 feet short of the runway.

“His intention was to land the plane and he lost power on his approach,” said CHP Officer Jason Smith at the scene on Saturday.

Smith said Mrityunjoy — who was the only person aboard the plane — was conscious after the crash and had “lacerations to his eyebrow” and some bruising to his face but no noticeable serious injuries.

A woman who identified herself as Mrityunjoy’s mother said Sunday that her son has “swollen eyes” and possibly an elbow problem, but he was home.

Mrityunjoy is a San Jose resident who went to Overfelt High School and attended San Jose State University. His Facebook page — which includes photos of Mrityunjoy flying — says he enjoys “Planes, planes, and hockey. And tennis maybe.”

No lanes of the highway were blocked by the crash, although traffic was snarled for hours in both directions because of the effort to remove the plane from the scene.

The Cessna 182 Skylane is a four-passenger highwing aircraft first introduced in 1956 and known for its reliability. The plane that crashed was manufactured in 1957. According to the FAA registry, it has current safety certification and is registered to Thinking Cap Aviation out of Whitefish, Montana.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.