On Wednesday afternoon, Robert “Budge” Brown, 78, was supposed to meet his son, Jeff Brown, in Tracy, Calif., but when he didn't arrive by early evening Jeff Brown said he alerted authorities and the search began.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific Division, said that the plane Brown was reported to have been flying, a Lancair Legacy with the tail number N121J, departed around 4 p.m. Wednesday from Minden, Nev., for a private airstrip near Tracy.
“The pilot was not communicating with, or being tracked by, air traffic controllers,” Gregor said.
Gregor said the FAA received the information about the overdue at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Brown was reported to be the only person on board the plane, according to his family and the FAA report.
Jeff Brown said the search is focusing on the Bear River Reservoir area off of Highway 88 near Placerville and above Jackson.
He described the search area as very rugged and densely forested, with a significant amount of snow reported to be on the ground.
He said it's “not a place you want to go down in an airplane, for sure.”
Jeff Brown said that he had spoken to his father early on Wednesday afternoon. His father wanted to have dinner with him that evening, and was excited to be leaving for a trip to Mexico with a friend the next day.
He asked his son – also a pilot – about the weather conditions. “He said that he was going to wait for some weather to clear in the Minden area and that he'd probably leave around 4 p.m. and he'd see me about 4:30 p.m.,” Jeff Brown said.
However, by 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jeff Brown said he began calling his father's friends to find out if anyone had seen him. “What worried me is he didn't call the people he normally calls.”
When it became clear no one had seen Budge Brown, the authorities were called. On Thursday morning the Civil Air Patrol and the Amador County Sheriff's Office initiated a search by air and ground, Jeff Brown said.
It appeared that Budge Brown wasn't on any kind of a flight plan, which isn't required although is strongly recommended, his son explained.
He said his father had made the same trip hundreds of times since he learned to fly in 1978.
Jeff Brown said a forensics specialist worked to try to track a radar signal believed to have been from Budge Brown's plane.
They found an airplane flying on a commonly followed course from Minden to Tracy, he said.
“Based on radar returns, it looked like the plane started deviating somewhat and then descending in altitude at a pretty rapid rate,” Jeff Brown said.
Based on that information, Jeff Brown said authorities identified the area where they believed the plane had gone down and started the search, after checking on whether he could have landed at any of the airports along the way.
“I believe the search is going to continue on for several more days,” Jeff Brown said.
He added, “We're really confident something will happen today.”
He said he and his family are hoping that the search can continue until his father is found.
Jeff Brown said his father loved airplanes and flying. “He was always trying to be better,” and had become an accomplished pilot in his 33 years of flying, his son said.
The Brown family also been active in the wine industry in other parts of California and in Nevada.
Shannon Gunier, executive director of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, said she was heartbroken at the news about Budge Brown, who she called “a great guy.”
The Brown family has been active in Lake County's wine industry, where in 2003 they purchased and began renovating the the old Vittel water bottling facility on the outskirts of Nice.
Gunier said she and her husband, Rick, worked with the Browns on locating at the facility. She'd also ridden with Budge Brown in his plane.
“We were just so excited to have him invest in Lake County,” she said.
Under the Brown family's guidance the Vittel facility, once used to bottle water from Bartlett Springs, was transformed into the Tulip Hill Winery, which – true to its name – is festooned each spring by a multicolored carpet of tulips.
“We've tried really hard to be active in the community,” said Jeff Brown, who grows some of the grapes used for the company's wines in Tracy.
Gunier said the Browns had indeed been great supporters of the county, and she was hopeful that there might be a happy ending to the search.
Budge Brown also has been noted for his philanthropy.
In 2005, following the death of his wife of 48 years, Arlene, who lost a battle with cancer, he founded Cleavage Creek Wines, based in Napa, which raises money for cancer research.
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