Officer Dan Benavides CHP Border Division
EOW: May 7, 2010
CHP Officer Dan Benavides (39) was
killed Friday, May 7, 2010, when his Cessna 206 patrol
aircraft crashed in a remote section of desert southwest of
the Salton Sea in Imperial County.
At approximately 9:30 a.m., a CHP air unit, Air-63, was
working a speed detail on State Route 86, north of Hoskins
Road. After completion of the detail, Air-63 was en route to
work a separate speed detail on Interstate 8, west of
Dunaway Road, when the El Centro Communication Center lost
contact with the pilot. A military and multi-agency
search-and-rescue operation for the aircraft was immediately
initiated. At approximately 4:03 p.m,, debris from the
aircraft was located by a California State Park Air Unit in
a rugged, mountainous, desert area near SR-78, west of Split
Mountain Road. Benavides was pronounced deceased at the
scene. The cause of the collision is being investigated by
the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Officer Benavides was a 13-year veteran with the Department
and assigned to the Border Division Thermal Air Operations
Unit since July 2006 as a fixed-wing aircraft pilot. His
previous assignments included Monterey, San Jose, San Diego
and Oceanside CHP Area Offices.
Officer Benavides was a resident of the Coachella Valley.
He is survived by his wife and a 9-year-old daughter.
A trust fund has been established for the family of
CHP officer Dan Benavides as follows:
C.A.H.P. Credit Union
402 West Arrow Hwy, Suite 7
San Dimas, CA 91773
“Dan Benavides Memorial Fund”
Checks payable to Megan Benavides, account #119638
Peace Officers Research Association of California
4010 Truxel Road, Sacramento, California 95834-3725
Phone: 1-800-937-6722 or (916) 928-3777 Fax: (916) 928-3760
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