7 Die as Plane Headed for Ski Resort Crashes : Mountains: Pilots, passengers from Tijuana die as twin-engine plane crashes in rugged area near Big Bear.

Seven people were killed when a chartered plane carrying Mexican tourists to a weekend ski trip crashed in the San Bernardino Mountains.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said both pilots and the five passengers, including two children, all of whom were said to be residents of Tijuana, died in the crash, which reportedly occurred about 5 p.m. Sunday. The wreckage was found Monday morning.

The twin-engine Piper Cheyenne went down at the 7,000-foot level, near Angelus Oaks, about 10 miles from the plane’s destination, Big Bear Airport.

The plane, which was piloted by James Enloe, had flown out of Brown Field, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Harry Hendricks, a pilot and friend of Enloe, said authorities told the family the wreckage was found about 11 a.m. Monday.

The plane was owned by Andrew & Williamson Sales Co., a produce company in San Ysidro, according to employee Alma Chavez. She said Enloe, 58, was also employed by Andrew & Williamson.

According to Hendricks, Enloe was chief pilot and maintenance officer for Andrew & Williamson. Enloe was a veteran pilot with more than 35 years of experience, he said. Enloe was married and had two sons, ages 16 and 11, he said.

The identity of the co-pilot, reportedly from Encinitas, could not be confirmed. Chavez said he was not employed by Andrew & Williamson.

On Monday afternoon, officials from the San Bernardino County coroner’s office said the bodies had not been removed from the crash site and their identities could not be confirmed.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said Enloe radioed someone on the ground about 4:20 p.m. Sunday, asking about weather conditions. But it was not clear Monday who Enloe talked to, because Big Bear Airport does not have a control tower, sheriff’s officials said.

Hendricks said Enloe had gone to Brown Field on Sunday to do some maintenance on the Piper Cheyenne. It was by happenstance that he ended up flying the five passengers to Big Bear, Hendricks said.

“From what we know, they (the skiers) were all from Tijuana,” he said. “They were on another friend’s plane, and when they went to take off, the plane lost power. (Enloe) was apparently doing them a favor by agreeing to fly them to Big Bear. He was just going to drop them off (at Big Bear) and come back.”

Hendricks said the terrain at the crash site and low clouds hampered the search. Searchers said the plane’s tail section was found sticking out of the snow.

“The plane had an emergency locater transmitter, but every time the signal went up it would hit a cloud and bounce back to the ground. They (searchers) were finally able to get a bead on the signal and found the crash,” Hendricks said.

Although it has snowed in the San Bernardino Mountains in recent days, authorities said it was too early to determine if weather was a factor in the crash.