His works include Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977), both of which were among the 1970s' biggest sellers.

In late August 2012, Bach was severely injured when on approach to landing at Friday Harbor, Washington, his aircraft clipped some power lines and crashed upside down in a field.

[3] Bach's first airplane flight occurred at age 14, when his mother was campaigning for a seat on the council of Long Beach, California.

Her campaign manager, Paul Marcus, mentioned that he flew airplanes and invited Richard on a flight in his Globe Swift.

He then worked at a variety of jobs, including as a technical writer for Douglas Aircraft and as a contributing editor for Flying magazine.

During the summer of 1970, Bach and his friend Chris Cagle traveled to Ireland, where they participated in flying sequences for Roger Corman's film Von Richthofen and Brown.

They flew a variety of World War I aircraft of the Blue Max collection owned by ex-RCAF pilot Lynn Garrison.

[6] In 1973, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was adapted into a film of the same name, produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation, with a soundtrack by Neil Diamond.

He crashed upside down in a field about two miles from Friday Harbor, taking down two poles and sparking a small grass fire.

The book incorporates the story of Bach's real-life aircraft crash, with the author imagining he is being visited by the "messiah", Don Shimoda, who helps him through his difficult medical recovery.

"[15] Their other children are Robert, Kristel, James Marcus Bach, Erika, and their youngest daughter, Bethany, who died in an accident at the age of 15 in 1985.

She featured significantly in two of his subsequent books: The Bridge Across Forever and One, which primarily focused on their relationship and Bach's concept of soulmates.