Small Plane Crashes Into Retention Pond, Kills 2 People On Board

Authorities in California are investigating after a small private jet crashed into a retention pond in an orchard in California and killed two persons on board.

The incident took place Sunday at around 9 a.m. in the city of Galt. The Beechcraft Baron 58 twin-engine plane nosedived into the waterbody in an orchard located about 4½ miles northwest of Sacramento County, Sacramento Bee reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration.

Deputies with the Cosumnes Fire Department arrived at the site near Christensen and Twin Cities roads and found the plane in the pond. As the firefighters swam to the plane, they found two male adult passengers in an unresponsive state.

"Cosumnes Fire units are at the scene of a downed aircraft in a remote area in Galt," officials said in a tweet.

The deputies pronounced the passengers dead on the spot. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear. The identities of the persons on board will be released by the local coroner's office post an autopsy.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will probe the crash, a spokesperson with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office told KCRA-TV.

In another incident last month, a small plane crashed into a pick-up truck on a California highway and burst into flames. The plane was set to touch down at the Corona Municipal Airport when it suffered an engine failure and landed between busy traffic. After the plane was engulfed in flames, the area was filled with thick plumes of smoke. Firefighters at the scene managed to douse the flames and save the two people on board. Three people in the truck also managed to escape the incident unscathed. The exact cause of the crash wasn't immediately determined.