A single-engine aircraft crash near a mountain airport in California claimed the lives of three people.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the Beechcraft A36 aircraft went down around 2 pm on Monday, May 1, close to Big Bear City Airport. The crash occurred in an unoccupied area and no fire ensued. The Big Bear Fire Department verified the death of all three passengers on board.
Investigators have yet to reveal the identities of the victims and are currently examining the cause of the accident. Weather reports suggest partly cloudy conditions during the time of the crash.
Big Bear Airport is situated near Big Bear Lake, a resort destination approximately two hours away from Los Angeles.
The accident was the second deadly small plane crash last week in Southern California. On Saturday, April 29, a single-engine Cessna C172 collided with a hillside above a Los Angeles neighborhood due to heavy fog, resulting in one casualty.
Joubin Solemani, a resident of the affluent Beverly Crest area, recalled hearing a loud impact while at home with his family on Saturday. Search-and-rescue crews were dispatched to the hillside, and after hours of navigating the darkness and thick fog, they located the wreckage and found the deceased pilot. The pilot, identified as 38-year-old Alon Inditzky, was the only person on board.
The fire department recovered the pilot’s body later on Sunday afternoon. Remarkably, the aircraft managed to avoid power lines and a water tank, and only a minor fire broke out.
An air traffic controller said he lost contact with the plane while it was flying to Van Nuys Airport.
Both crashes are under investigation by the FAA and the NTSB.
