Update: Two people die in small plane crash near Columbia, sheriff reports
Updated story ==> Tuolumne Sheriff’s Office identifies two killed in Columbia airplane crash
Update, 8:20 a.m. Thursday: The two people killed in Wednesday evening’s plane crash near the Columbia Airport have been identified, but their names are being withheld pending notification of family, which should happen Thursday, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Nicco Sandelin said.
The deputy was on his way to the crash site Thursday morning and said National Transportation Safety Board personnel were, as well. The NTSB will be conducting the investigation into the crash, he said.
Original story: Two people died when a small plane crashed near Columbia Airport on Wednesday night, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Their names were not available following the accident, reported just after 6 p.m. on the 21000 block of Springfield Road. That is about a quarter-mile from the county-owned airport, which serves small aircraft.
“There is no threat to nearby communities,” a post on the sheriff’s Facebook page said. “We don’t know the circumstances of the crash or the plane’s destination.”
The crash area includes cattle ranches and is within half a mile of Columbia Elementary School and Columbia State Historic Park.
The plane was a single-engine Cessna 140A and flipped over in a field, spokesman Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said by email.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident, a process that typically takes at least a year, he said.
Check back for updates to this breaking story.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 7:56 PM.
