Plane Crashes Near Shore of Big Bear Lake

San Bernadino Sheriff's received a call Saturday morning about the plane going down

A small plane crashed near the south shoreline in Big Bear Lake on Saturday morning, according to the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department.

The single-enginge Beechcraft was attempting an emergency landing at the Big Bear Airport but landed in Big Bear Lake instead, the Associated Press reported.

The pilot of the plane radioed that he was having engine trouble just before the crash, airport official Bob Dow told the Associated Press.

After the pilot was cleared to land on the runway, he responded that he was losing altitude and then landed near the lake's south shore.

Sheriff's dispatch received a call of a plane down in Big Bear at 10:41 a.m., according to the department.

A handful of passengers quickly exited the plane, a few of them with minor cuts and bruises, said the department, which said the incident was "more of a hard landing."

A photo from the scene showed a plane in the water of the mountain lake, close to the shore.

Contact Us