2 killed as plane crashes in Northern California

GALT, Calif. (AP) — A twin-engine plane crashed in an orchard in Sacramento County on Sunday, killing two men on board, authorities said.

The Beechcraft Baron 58 went down shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday in a marshy area at an almond orchard near Galt, south of Sacramento, authorities said.

Firefighters had to wade and swim to reach the plane, authorities said.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene. The county coroner’s office identified them as Kenneth Mueller, 56, of El Dorado Hills and 68-year-old Richard Conte of Orangevale.

The plane went down less than 20 minutes after taking off from Tracy Municipal Airport and had made previous stops at San Andreas and Modesto before the last flight, the Sacramento Bee reported, citing flight tracking service FlightAware.

The six-seat plane was owned by a Sacramento law firm that used it to take lawyers and clients around the area, according to Federal Aviation Administration records cited by the Bee.

Conte was a pilot examiner and managed aircraft for the firm and Mueller was licensed to fly, the paper said, citing online records.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.