Marine Identified as Air Crash Victim : Accident: The Tustin pilot’s mother says he and his fiancee were among the four who died when the small plane went down on takeoff from Truckee.

One of four victims who died when a single-engine Cessna crashed on takeoff was identified Tuesday as Vincent M. Correal, a Marine pilot stationed at the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

Correal, originally from Carlisle, Pa., was identified by his mother, Paula Correal, who is Carlisle justice of the peace.

She said one of the other three people who died in Monday’s crash was Correal’s fiancee. The couple had planned to marry Dec. 31, she said.

The identities of the other two are unknown.

Nevada County sheriff’s dispatcher Karen Vierra said authorities are withholding the identities of all the victims pending autopsies by the medical examiner’s office.

Investigators said the plane was registered in Southern California and all of the victims were believed to be in their 20s.

Pilots who witnessed the takeoff attempt said they heard the engine sputtering just before the four-passenger plane crashed into a brush-covered field, about 700 feet beyond the end of the runway.

The witnesses saw flames erupt in the engine area and spread to the fuselage, engulfing the plane and nearby brush, burning about one-quarter of an acre. Parts of the plane melted in the intense heat.

Resembling a charred wad of crumpled paper, the Cessna 172RG apparently hit the ground nose first and bounced, landing upside-down about 10 feet from its initial point of impact, said Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector Jim Woods, who was investigating the accident.

Preliminary reports suggest the plane may have stalled during takeoff, meaning its wings were not properly angled to achieve lift, Woods said.

Another factor that may have contributed to the accident is density altitude.

“I’m not saying it was a factor in this one, but it’s usually a factor in the summer at these (mountain) airports,” Woods said.

Because air at high altitude is thinner than air at sea level, plane engines operate at reduced power. When temperatures warm the air, it becomes even thinner.

Therefore, although Truckee is at 5,900 feet, planes frequently perform as if they are flying at 7,500 feet or more.