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Truckee Plane Crash Victim Identified

Posted: 4:49 PM Aug 2, 2012
Reporter: Staff

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TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) - An FAA official confirmed the pilot was killed after the single-engine plane crashed into a building at Truckee-Tahoe Airport Thursday morning.

A spokesman for the northern California organization "Flying Doctors" confirms the victim's name is James Ungar. Ungar was the pilot and an emergency room physician.

The Flying Doctors representative says the plane was being used by their organization as part of a group of medical personnel heading to Bahia Tortugas, Mexico to provide dental and medical services to those in need.

The Flying Doctors spokesman says the airplane came from another location in northern California and stopped in Truckee to pick up a member of the team. From Truckee-Tahoe, it initially took off with three people aboard, Ungar, a nurse, and another volunteer. Shortly after take-off, they heard unusual noises so they turned back and landed. The nurse and volunteer got off the plane and Ungar took off again to test whether the plane was air-worthy. That is when the crash happened, according to the Flying Doctors representative.

The NTSB will head up the investigation with help from the FAA.