El Dorado County: South Lake Tahoe Plane Crash Victims ID'ed.

Plane Crash in South Lake Tahoe

Victims: The El Dorado County Sheriff/Coroner’s Office has positively identified the deceased victims of the plane crash that occurred Saturday evening (08/25/12) in South Lake Tahoe.

 Through dental charts the victims have been identified as: .

• Harold Cardwell, 60 years old of Fresno California, Kin Cardwell, 41 years old of Fresno California
• Francisco De La Mora, 43 years old of Fresno, California.
• Lorena De La Mora, 39 years old of Fresno California.
• Esmeralda De La Mora 6 years old of Fresno, California.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Incident Summary: On 8/25/12 at 9:48 PM, witnesses reported a plane crash in the meadow area east of Winnemucca Ave in South Lake Tahoe. This area is just north of the South Lake Tahoe Airport. The plane had been heard by witnesses to have apparent engine problems, and was seen to dip downward into the ground while attempting a turn. The plane immediately burst into flames on impact, and started a 1 acre fire which took over an hour and a half to extinguish.

The plane is believed to be a single engine plane that took off from the South Lake Tahoe airport. Much of the wreckage of the plane was destroyed in the fire, making identification of the plane difficult. There were multiple victims aboard the aircraft, and investigators are currently processing the scene to confirm their identities. No information concerning the identity of the victims, or the plane will be released until positive confirmation has been made. Investigators from the FAA and NTSB will arrive on the scene this afternoon to assist with the investigation.

CFN - California Fire News 2012 

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