UPDATE
The National Transportation Safety Board says two pilots rented the Piper PA-28-180 from North Las Vegas and were traveling to California in order to accumulate flight hours.
This week, the NTSB released the preliminary investigation report.
According to the report, the plane took off from North Las Vegas and subsequently landed at Needles Airport about an hour later. The operator then received an emergency locator transmitter alert for the aircraft. Law enforcement responded and found the crash about 1,425 feet southwest of one of the airport's runways.
The pilots have not been publicly identified, as of this update.
The NTSB did not give a cause for the crash but said all major airplane components and control surfaces were located and identified within the debris path. The airplane was taken to a secure facility for further examination.
ORIGINAL STORY
Two people are dead after a plane leaving North Las Vegas crashed in California on Sunday.
The San Bernardino County Fire and Sheriff Departments responded to a report of an unknown fire near the Needles airport. When they arrived, they discovered a single-engine, fixed-wing Piper plane engulfed in flames.
The plane crashed at around 9:40 p.m.
The fire was contained to the crash site, and the two people aboard died.
The cause of the crash is currently unknown.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will continue investigating the crash.
