Jonathan Livingston Seagull havarert

Richard Bach Injured In Crash (Updated)

It's now been confirmed that celebrated author and longtime flying enthusiast Richard Bach was seriously injured when his SeaRey amphib clipped power lines and went down short of a runway on San Juan Island northwest of Seattle on Friday. His son James told The Associated Press his father's condition is improving. He has a broken shoulder and head injuries. Bach, whose short novel about a seagull's love of flight was considered a metaphor for Bach's own passion for the air, was a massive best seller and after Jonathan Livingston Seagull he penned dozens of books, many of which had an aviation theme. The 76-year-old Bach, who was interviewed by AVweb's Mary Grady in 2011, is an accomplished pilot who also started a blog that often mentions aviation.

Details of the crash are sketchy but there are reports the landing gear of the aircraft snagged a power line on final for a private strip on the island. Bach began flying when he was 17 and flew F-84s for the Air Force as a reservist. He held a variety of jobs before the 1972 success of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and was also a barnstormer.