The Region : Four Dead in Death Valley Plane Crash

The wreckage of a single-engine plane, its emergency signal monitored by a Soviet satellite and bounced back to Earth, was found in the mountains of Death Valley after it crashed during a snowstorm, killing all four people aboard. The V-tailed 1951 Beechcraft V-35 crashed Monday at the 6,000-foot level in low clouds that afforded poor visibility, National Park Service Ranger Dick Rayner said. The dead were identified as pilot Chuck Downs of Norco and passengers Edith, Wes and Dorothy Menke, he said. The wreckage was found by a Civil Air Patrol plane, which tracked the Emergency Locater Transmitter signal that “was picked up by this orbiting satellite,” Rayner said. The plane took off Monday morning from Corona for Yerington, Nev., hometown of Edith Menke, 67. Her son, Wes, and his wife, Dorothy, lived in Norco.