The wreckage of a plane appears on a mountain slope in the San Bernardino National Forest near Mt. Baldy, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. Authorities say the pilot was killed in the crash. He was the only person aboard the Piper PA-28 Cherokee. ( Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via AP)
November 22, 2016 - 2:08 PM
UPLAND, Calif. - A small plane crashed Tuesday on a mountain slope in San Bernardino National Forest, killing the pilot, authorities said.
The unidentified man was the only person aboard the Piper PA-28 Cherokee when it slammed into a lower flank of Mount Baldy east of Los Angeles, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.
The single-engine plane was flying from nearby Upland to Riverside when it was reported missing around 5 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The wreckage was located about an hour later. Television news showed the aircraft crumpled and broken apart.
A sheriff's helicopter landed on a flat area above the crash and deputies were able to climb down to the site and confirm the death, Miller said.
Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were at the scene and will try to determine the cause of the crash.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016