4 Killed Sunday in Light Plane Crash Near Gorman

Four people were killed when a light plane crashed in bad weather on a rugged mountainside just southwest of Gorman, authorities said Monday.

The identities of the pilot and three passengers could not be released because their relatives had not been notified, Federal Aviation Administration Duty Officer Tom Aina said.

The single-engine Cessna 172 left Burbank Airport about noon Sunday en route to Reid Hillview Airport, a small facility in San Jose, Aina said, and apparently crashed about an hour later.

The cause of the crash was unknown, Aina said. But at the time the plane went down, satellite pictures show “inclement weather through that whole area,” said Bill Hoffer of the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles.

“I would anticipate it was socked in with inclement weather--fog, rain and possible intermittent snow showers,” Hoffer said.

The plane’s wreckage was sighted Monday about 4 p.m. from another airplane flying on a regular route, Aina said. The pilot of that plane reported a partial identification number matching that of the Cessna 172, which had been listed as missing by the FAA after a relative of one of those aboard reported the plane had not arrived in San Jose, Aina said.

The crew of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s helicopter on another call also spotted the wreckage and reported it to sheriff’s officials around the same time, Sheriff’s Lt. Barbara Persten said.

The deaths of the four occupants were reported by the Sheriff’s Department, the FAA said.

The helicopter crew planned to help with the recovery Monday night, but the mission was called off when dense low clouds made the search impossible, Deputy Robert Norlemann said. A deputy was posted near the site to ensure no one disturbed the crash scene overnight, Norlemann said.

Search crews were expected to hike to the area to retrieve the bodies beginning at daybreak today, Norlemann said.