Are people taking planes on dangerous joyrides and quick trips by overloading occupancy rates and placing passengers in jeopardy?

One family of six from Santa Monica overloaded their single-engine four-seat Lancair Columbia aircraft for the sake of a camping trip in Kern County.

Friday night their plane crashed near the landing strip at the Kern Valley airport. The plane slammed into the ground, killing all members, including an infant.

ABC23 Crash Report: "Six Dead In Private Plane Crash"

Whether or not overloading the plane is the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

Yet, overloading private aircraft may be a growing concern.

One Bakersfield pilot, who would not give his name, said that such aircraft are only meant to be used for what they were intended for: as four-seat aircraft.

According to the pilot, overloading such aircraft is a hazard.

Jeltje Nelson, airport manager at Kern Valley did not speculate as to the cause of the crash, though she did say the plane was too high right before the accident.

In an article on Bakersfield.com one pilot said wind is tricky in the area and could have played into the cause of the wreck.

Although Nelson would not discuss other plane crashes at the airport, she did say it was an “unfair question” and admitted to seeing other wrecks, but never one so severe.

Recently one web site reported low visibility at the Kern Valley airport from Zaca Fire ash clouds. The site reported ash on airplanes on the ground as well. There were no reports of low visibility in the crash of the airplane Friday night.

An ABC reporter suggested the Friday night plane crash was the most people killed in Kern County in one single incident since the Brothers’ murder in 2003.