Pilot killed in Truckee crash was Calif. ER doctor | News

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) - Officials have identified a 66-year-old pilot killed in a Truckee plane crash as a Northern California emergency room doctor who was leaving for a humanitarian medical mission in Mexico.

Nevada County coroner's officials say James Richard Ungar of Yreka was killed on impact when his Piper Comanche hit a hangar at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport shortly after takeoff Thursday morning.

An Auburn-based nonprofit called Los Médicos Voladores, or The Flying Doctors, says Ungar was a volunteer pilot who flew doctors to Mexico and Central America.

The group's spokesman, Adrian Fenderson, said Ungar had two passengers aboard the single-engine aircraft when he attempted and aborted a takeoff.

Fenderson said Ungar was concerned there wasn't enough lift and told the passengers to leave the plane before he made his ill-fated second takeoff.