A single-engine plane crashed Sunday afternoon in a remote area of the Tahoe National Forest near Alpine Meadows, killing the lone person on board, according to authorities and flight data.
The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza went down around 5:14 p.m. in the Granite Chief Wilderness, about 1 mile west of Ward Peak and roughly 2 miles south of the Palisades Tahoe resort, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Only the pilot, who was found dead, was aboard the aircraft, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said.
“At approximately the same time the aircraft disappeared from radar, our dispatch center received an Apple crash alert in the area,” deputies said in a statement. “With the assistance of the CHP Air and Care Flight, an aerial search was initiated, and the downed aircraft was found.”
The Sheriff’s Office said that because the crash site was in a remote part of the Sierra, “Tahoe Nordic search and rescue personnel were deployed.”
“Some crews, including deputies, were flown into the area, while others responded by ground to reach the crash site,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Flight tracking data indicated the plane had departed from Monterey Regional Airport at about 4:12 p.m. and was headed northeast over the Sierra when it crashed. Its destination was not known.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, the plane frequently flew between Monterey and Truckee Tahoe Airport, which was about 15 miles north of the crash site. Conditions at the airport at the time of the crash were mostly clear, with a few clouds above 20,000 feet and 10 miles of visibility. Winds were out of the southwest at about 10 mph, according to automated weather observations at the airport.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, with the NTSB leading the investigation on the cause. The NTSB did not respond to questions about the crash.
Authorities had not publicly identified the pilot. The identity was expected to be released by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office coroner division.
The plane was registered to a resident of Saratoga, near San Jose, according to FAA records.
Tahoe National Forest officials, meanwhile, said they had closed trails and surrounding public lands near the crash site. The closure includes the Five Lakes area and portions of the Five Lakes Trail, which runs west from the trailhead into the Granite Chief Wilderness.
Forest officials, citing “unknown dangers resulting from wreckage,” said the restrictions were expected to remain in place through April 7, though they could be lifted earlier.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 9:50 AM.
Related Stories from Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
Daniel Hunt is a local news editor for The Sacramento Bee; he joined the newspaper in 2013.