What: Piper PA-32-301T Turbo Saratoga
Where: off Winnemucca Avenue near Barton Hospital, Barton Meadow, South Lake Tahoe, CA
When: August 25, 2012, 9:45 p.m.
Who: 5 aboard, 5 fatalities
Why: The plane took off from Lake Tahoe Airport. No flight plan was filed. Witnesses heard the plane having engine trouble, and saw the plane turn and crash. A witness said he heard something like “a lawnmower that got something caught in the blade. There were two quick cracking noises and then it was over.”The plane impacted in Barton Meadows within El Dorado County limits, and caught on fire. Other witnesses reported seeing the fireball. The wildfire burned about an acre and was contained by 11:10 p.m.. Debris from the crash remained in the field but the numbers on the wing and tail were not identifiable.
Those aboard were identified as pilot Francisco de la Mora, his wife Lorena, and daughter, and Harold and Kin Cardwell. The plane was registered in the pilot’s name.
Delta Airlines flight 1171 had to return and make a safe emergency landing at Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, on August 12th.