3 Bodies Found Where Plane Struck House

Rescue crews found three bodies Monday in the charred debris where a small airplane had crashed into a house a day earlier, a city spokesman said.

Two people aboard the single-engine plane were reported killed Sunday when it crashed into the home. Witnesses said the pilot had been performing aerobatic stunts over the suburban neighborhood just northeast of Sacramento.

A 19-year-old man who lived at the home was reported missing and had not been located Monday.

Officials said they could not confirm the identities of the victims, but Matt Haberkorn, an attorney who spoke Monday on behalf of the family that owned the home, identified the missing man as Chris Musil.

The man lived at the house with his father, Nick, and a friend of the father, Haberkorn said. Nick Musil left the home about 7 a.m. Sunday for a business trip to Chicago, Haberkorn said.

“When he landed in Chicago, someone called him and said, ‘Get back on the plane. Your house is on fire.’ So he came back. He couldn’t get ahold of his son; no one could,” Haberkorn said. “No one’s heard from him. No one’s been able to reach him.”

He said the family was providing dental records to help investigators. Haberkorn said the roommate last saw Chris Musil about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, about two hours before the crash.

The crash left a gaping, smoldering hole in the two-story house and set fire to an adjacent home.

The bodies were being taken to the Placer County coroner’s office in Auburn.

The Federal Aviation Administration has taken over the crash investigation, said William Boyer, a city spokesman.

The plane, a two-seat Glasair II, was built in 1996 and registered to Patrick O’Brien of San Clemente. Attempts to reach O’Brien’s residence were not successful.

Witnesses reported seeing the plane perform aerobatic maneuvers when it appeared to lose control and crash.

FAA rules prohibit planes from performing aerobatic stunts over populated areas and require that they fly at least 1,000 feet above buildings.

The plane had taken off from Lincoln Regional Airport, about 10 miles north of the crash site.