Second Body Pulled From Plane Crash Near Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A second body was found this week in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed near Palm Springs International Airport on Tuesday, sheriff's officials confirmed. The woman was a passenger in the single-engine aircraft that went down about 12 miles north-northwest of PSP.

The body of a male believed to be the pilot was recovered Wednesday inside the plane. Authorities initially thought he was the lone passenger.

Just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Riverside County sheriff's officials say they were alerted to an "air emergency" in the area of Highway 62 and North Indian Canyon Drive.

"A Cessna airplane was reported missing while traveling from the city of El Monte to Las Vegas," the sheriff's department said in a news release. "Riverside Sheriff’s Department aircraft located the missing airplane in the mountains west of Highway 62. The crash site was accessed by the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit and due to inclement weather the rescue effort had to be halted."

The FAA notified the sheriff's department about the pilot who had not reached his destination and asked for help in locating the plane, according to Deputy Mike Vasquez.

The Cessna 172 had departed about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday from San Gabriel Valley Airport and crashed around 6:15 p.m. under unknown circumstances into the side of a canyon, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit ultimately located the wreckage in the early morning hours Wednesday, which is when the man was found, Vasquez said. Once the weather cleared, a search team Thursday located the body of the female passenger.

The names of the victims are being withheld from the public, Vasquez said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating the cause of the crash, Kenitzer said.

— City News Service contributed to this report / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone