Plane Crashes After Takeoff, Killing 3 Palm Desert Men
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PALM DESERT, Calif. — A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday, killing all three men aboard, authorities said.
The four-seat Cessna 172 crashed about 8:30 a.m. in a rural area in the community of Bermuda Dunes, said Bruce Nelson, operations officer for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot and front-seat passenger died at the scene. The third victim died at Desert Hospital, said Riverside County sheriff’s spokesman Mark Lohman.
The three men, all from Palm Desert, were identified as pilot Rick Hoffman, 34, Phillip Monarque, 35, and Pedro Alvarez Jr., 35, the Riverside County coroner’s office said.
The plane was believed to have taken off from Bermuda Dunes Airport, about 1 1/2 miles southeast of the crash, Nelson said. A witness told investigators that the plane took off and appeared to be climbing steeply, then rolled to the left and plunged to the ground nose first, he said.
The cause of the crash was unknown, Nelson said. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.
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