Airplane Went Down Just After Takeoff From Lake Tahoe Airport

The owner of a Fresno, CA, trucking company, his wife and daughter, and two family friends were reportedly  fatally injured Saturday night when the airplane they were aboard went down just after takeoff from South Lake Tahoe airport.

The plane went down about 2145 PDT Saturday in a wooded area near the airport, according to a report in the Fresno Bee. The post-impact fire burned about an acre before it was extinguished, according to El Dorado County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Pete Van Arnum.

The flight was a "personal trip" for Francisco J. Delamora, the owner of Jdm Transport, a Fresno-based trucking company. His wife and 7-year-old daughter, along with two friends, had gone along on the day trip to Lake Tahoe Saturday, according to his Delamora's brother Jesus. Those fatally injured in the accident have not been officially identified.

Witnesses told the paper that the plane reportedly had engine problems and was attempting to turn just north of the airport when it went down. The plane was totally destroyed in the post-impact fire.

The same plane had reportedly been involved in a previous accident in 2005 in Destin, FL. The plane had a different owner at the time, and no one was injured in that accident.

(Lake Tahoe Airport photograph from file)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov