Pilot and author Richard Bach remains in serious condition, according to media reports, after his aircraft reportedly crashed while attempting to land in Washington State. According to FAA records, Bach holds a flight instructor certificate and is a land and sea single- and multiengine commercial pilot with an instrument airplane rating, and rotorcraft and glider certificates. He was reportedly flying to visit a friend on San Juan Island.
The amphibious aircraft came to rest inverted in a field Aug. 31 after clipping a power line on approach to landing at a grass strip, James Bach, his son, told The Associated Press. His son said that Bach, who was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, sustained a head injury and broken shoulder.
As news of the accident spread, fans posted well-wishes Sept. 1 in the community section of Bach’s official website, which prominently features his Experimental Easton Gilbert SeaRey. The website has since been taken down, with a note saying it is undergoing maintenance.
Bach touched on aviation themes in many of his books; his works include “Stranger to the ground,” “Biplane,” “Nothing by chance,” “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” “A gift of wings,” “Illusions: The adventures of a reluctant messiah,” and “There’s no such place as far away.”
