Industry News
UPDATE: 4:40 am PST Wed 18th July
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has identified the pilot who was killed in a plane crash Tuesday morning near the Truckee Tahoe Airport, reports the Reno Gazette Journal.
The pilot was identified as 60-year-old Kenneth Whittall-Scherfee, of Carmichael, CA according to Dena Erwin, spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Whittall-Scherfee was also the registered owner of the Navion-B plane.
Erwin said two other people were on the plane and were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. One person died at the hospital and the condition of the other person was unknown as of Tuesday afternoon.
UPDATE: 11:05 am PST – The official Placer Sheriff Twitter account has just confirmed a second person has died as a result of the small plane crash this morning.
Update: A second person onboard this plane that crashed this morning after taking off from the Truckee Airport has died. Our coroner officials are on scene, FAA will investigate. Pilot put out “May Day” after takeoff. pic.twitter.com/Ewo22YZOjZ
— Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) 17 July 2018
One victim is dead and two have been transported to a hospital after a small private plane crashed in a meadow south of Truckee, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
According to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration, a single-engine Navion-B crashed on the west side of Highway 267 between Truckee and Northstar Resort. A spokesperson from the nearby Truckee-Tahoe Airport says the pilot had left the airport headed east at 7:33 am, reported engine problems almost immediately, and was trying to return to the airport when the crash occurred a mile southeast of the airport.
Traffic Alert:
Expect a slow down on SR-267 this morning between the Town of Truckee and Northstar due to a plane that crashed this morning.
Lots of emergency personnel on scene. Avoid the area if possible.
— CHP-Truckee (@CHP_Truckee) July 17, 2018
The FAA says three people were on board the plane when it crashed on the west side of Highway 267 near Mercer Flats shortly before 7:40 am.
California Highway Patrol says to expect a slowdown on Highway 267 due to the crash. Lots of emergency personnel are at the scene. People are being asked to avoid the area if at all possible.
CHP, the FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. No names have been released.
