A tragic incident occurred on Saturday as two individuals lost their lives in a fatal crash near Lake Tahoe in western California.
The Daher TBM 700 airplane departed from Centennial Airport in south Denver at 4:22 p.m. Mountain Time, as per FlightAware.com flight data. Its destination was the Truckee Tahoe Airport, with an estimated flight duration of three hours and 16 minutes.
According to posts on social media by the Truckee police and fire departments, the plane crashed into the ground north of the airport. Fortunately, there have been no reports of any injuries to individuals outside of the aircraft.
Daher, previously known as Socata, is a renowned French aircraft manufacturer. The specific aircraft involved in the crash was constructed in 2022, as per FAA records.
The Truckee Airport shared a picture of a Daher TBM aircraft, similar to the one involved in the crash.
The individuals on board the aircraft have not been officially identified. However, the plane is registered under Avram Enterprises, a Nevada-based company. According to an online business profile, one of the two agents associated with the company is named Liron Petrushka.
According to a report published on Sunday by the Times of Israel, Liron Petrushka and his wife, Naomi, have been identified as the two victims of the crash. The article mentions that Liron Petrushka was not only a former professional soccer player in Israel but also a tech entrepreneur in the U.S., along with his wife.
The statement was released by Einav Hazenvald, the chairman of Petrushka’s former soccer team.
“The club mourns the tragic loss of Liron Petrushka and his wife. Liron had a deep connection with the club, starting at the young age of 10 and progressing through all the teams, eventually playing for the adult team. We even had the privilege of playing together in the youth team, where we achieved the incredible feat of winning the national championship. Liron’s presence and contributions will forever be remembered within the club.”
According to the Aviation Safety Network, initial reports indicate that the Petrushka’s plane failed to make its approach to a northeast-to-southwest runway at the airport. Instead, the aircraft executed a 180-degree turn over the airport and gained altitude, presumably in an attempt to perform a “go-around” maneuver for another landing attempt. However, shortly after the plane completed its turn, it entered a left-hand stalling spiral that ultimately led to the crash site.
The Truckee Tahoe Airport has announced that the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have initiated an investigation into the crash on Sunday morning. It usually takes several months for the official cause of crashes to be determined, as investigators gather the wreckage and reconstruct what is left of the aircraft.
The description of the incident provided by the Aviation Safety Network aligns with the final moments of the plane’s flight path displayed on FlightRadar24.com.
According to the Truckee Fire Department, the plane touched down in a neighborhood situated between a set of railroad tracks and the Truckee River.
According to FlightAware’s records, the plane had been flown from Truckee, California to Colorado’s Centennial Airport on March 27. It had also made trips between Truckee and San Carlos, Calif., Camarillo, Calif., and Portland since March 19.
