Passenger killed in small plane crash near Tahoe identified

RENO — The passenger who died in a small airplane crash that also killed the pilot near Lake Tahoe earlier this week has been identified as a 55-year-old Southern California man.

The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday an autopsy determined Peter Jackson of West Hollywood died from multiple blunt force injuries in the crash south of Truckee.

The 60-year-old pilot, Kenneth Whittall-Scherfee of Carmichael, California, reported engine trouble shortly after takeoff on Tuesday and was trying to make it back to the Truckee-Tahoe Airport when the plane went down.

Jackson and another male passenger who hasn’t been identified were flown to a Reno hospital with critical injuries. Jackson died later that day. The three men were the only ones on board the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration is continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.