A small plane crashed shortly after taking off from a Northern California airport on Saturday, killing the pilot and injuring a passenger, authorities said.
The single-engine aircraft was engulfed in fire after crashing into a field near Auburn Municipal Airport shortly before 11 a.m., Placer County Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Scott said.
County firefighters who responded to the scene said the passenger suffered minor injuries.
Sheriff investigators were looking into the cause of the crash with the assistance of the National Transportation Board, whose investigators will participate remotely instead of traveling to the crash site due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott said.