The two people killed when a plane crashed in the northeastern corner of Mendocino County Friday evening have yet to be positively identified, but the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported this week that the victims were likely not local residents.
When asked Monday for an update on attempts to identify the deceased people found in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed and caught fire near the Round Valley airport on Oct. 20, MCSO Capt. Greg Van Patten said that family members of the victims had reported to his office that their loved ones were on that plane.
"We are attempting (official identifications) from dental records once we are able to obtain them," Van Patten explained, adding that the victims are believed to be out-of-state residents.
According to the MCSO, the crash occurred in the 21000 block of Airport Road in Covelo around 6 p.m. Oct. 20. While deputies were responding to the incident, they were informed that the plane had caught fire, and flames were spreading to nearby vegetation.
Personnel from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forestry Service, the California Highway Patrol and the Round Valley Tribal Police Department also responded, and "once the fire was contained, (MCSO) deputies began searching the debris field, (where) they located the bodies of two deceased individuals."
The MCSO then "initiated a Coroner's Investigation specific to Aircraft Accident protocols and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board," and reports that "the circumstances/cause of the crash is currently being investigated by NTSB investigators."
The MCSO reports that it is continuing an investigation into the deaths, and requests that "anyone with information that may assist investigators (contact the MCSO) Office Dispatch Center by calling 707-463-4086."
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