The plane was part of Cal-Ore Life Flight, which transports patients throughout Northern California and Oregon.
Advertisement
This article was originally published at 11 a.m.
According to the Modesto Bee, the pilot of the 1958 Cessna 310B was flying with his wife, mother and stepfather when the plane veered off a runway into vegetation and caught fire.
The pilot of the plane radioed an emergency at around 1 a.m. PT (4 a.m. ET) when smoke filled the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The pilot indicated he was going to try to fly back to Crescent City, but the FAA lost radar contact with the plane when it was about 5 miles northeast of the Arcata-Eureka Airport.
The tail number is N661TC.
The plane was about 360 miles from Crescent City, near the OR border, when the pilot declared an emergency around 1am.
Ernie Stewart said on Friday that his office received four victims – three female and one male – but he declined to identify them until next of kin were notified.
The Humboldt County Sheriff is searching for the aircraft.
Gregor says the pilot reported that he planned to return to Crescent City before losing contact.
It took off about 12:29 a.m. Friday from Crescent City Airport, Jack McNamara Field bound for Oakland.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the US and significant accidents in other modes of transportation – railroad, highway, marine and pipeline.
The identities of the Cal-Ore Life Flight pilot, nurse, and paramedic, as well as the patient, have not been released at this time. Any comment about the cause or other details of the incident would be unfounded speculation.
Advertisement
Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies searched the area for the aircraft, said Lt. Wayne Hanson, an agency spokesman.
