AUBURN, Calif. (AP) — A small plane crashed near a golf course shortly after taking off Friday from the Auburn airport, killing a father and his son and injuring another person, authorities said.
The single-engine Stinson Vultee V-77 plane crashed shortly after taking from the Auburn Municipal Airport, killing Anthony Lawrence Wright Sr., 80, and his 55-year-old son, Anthony Wright Lawrence Jr., both of Meadow Vista, the Placer County Sheriff's Office said.
Wright Jr. was a reserve officer and a full-time records officer with the Rancho Cordova Police Department, the office said said.
A third person was injured but details about their condition were not immediately available.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office said the plane crashed at the Black Oak Golf Course. Video images of the crash site posted on social media by the sheriff's office showed the plane's wreckage among trees.
Scott Parker, commander for the California Highway Patrol in Auburn, said officers responded shortly before 10 a.m. to the 13000 block of Dry Creek Road after receiving reports of a pilot making a distress call shortly after takeoff.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane crashed about a mile northeast of Auburn Municipal Airport.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the crash.
