Tuolumne County crash victim identified as Cal Fire air tanker pilot Ken Lancaster
A Cal Fire tanker pilot is dead after an off-duty plane crash Monday afternoon near the Columbia Airport in Tuolomne County.
It's a heartbreaking loss for the Calfire community. And plane crash landing just behind a home. People who live here believe this pilot made every effort to avoid hitting homes.
Cal Fire air Tanker Pilot Ken Lancaster was killed in an off-duty small plane crash close to the Columbia Airport. He flew tankers in and out of fighting wildfires across Northern California
Sheriff's deputies are watching over the crash site of Lancaster's private single-engine plane. The wreckage was out of view in the backyard of a nearby home. No one was inside at the time of the crash.
"Well, first of all, my heart goes out to his family and relatives," said nearby resident Johnny Etheridge.
Ethridge lives down the street and says planes flying overhead as they come in for landings at Columbia Airport are common.
"If you go just south, probably less than a mile, is the approach to the airport," he said. So we're very close."
Flight Aware data shows a plane matching the description of Lancaster's was returning to the airport after a one-hour flight.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash.
"Whatever effort he made to avoid the house, he didn't land that far behind this lady's house -- kind of over in the rocks there so it could have taken other people's lives," said Ethridge.
Steve: A pilot who served to protect neighborhoods from wildfire.
Losing his own life in a plane crash..his final act..may have been seeking to save the lives of others.
The wreckage is still behind the house in a spot that will make removal difficult. The NTSB and FAA will be continuing their investigation.
