Pilot, passenger walk away from plane crash in Groveland

Two people escaped injury after the plane they were in crashed Tuesday afternoon near Pine Mountain Lake Airport, authorities said.

A witness saw the plane take off around 12:15 p.m. and crash past the runway and into a tree and power line area, according to Andrea Benson, spokeswoman for the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office.

Two residents went to the crash site, where fire and ambulance responded.

The pilot and passenger already were out of the plane and walking, Benson said. One complained of pain to his finger, and both refused medical treatment.

The pilot was identified as Samuel Gore, 83, of Mississipi, who bought the plane on Tuesday. His passnger was Robert Bloom, 62, of Florida.

The plane is described as a 1976 fixed-wing, single-engine Beechcraft that was last registered in 2011 out of Groveland.

There was no fire or fuel leakage at the site, Benson said.

We’ll have more on the story if new information becomes available.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Pilot, passenger walk away from plane crash in Groveland."