AUBURN — A Susanville couple were killed when their single-engine plane that took off from Middletown Saturday night crashed near the Auburn airport, according to reports.
Dena Erwin of the Placer County Sheriff”s Office said the crash victims were Bruce Aldridge Rhymes, 59, and his wife Kathy Lorraine Rhymes, 58, both of Susanville.
At 12:30 a.m. Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff”s Office received a call from the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal EMA) to assist in a search for a possible downed aircraft about one mile south of the Auburn Airport.
Commercial airliners confirmed a distress signal from an aircraft”s emergency transmitter, according to the Placer County Sheriff”s Office. Cal EMA provided specific GPS information for the California Highway Patrol”s fixed wing airplane and the Placer County Sheriff”s helicopter, which found the crash site with the help of a sheriff”s deputy on the ground equipped with a handheld radio programmed with the distress signal information.
