From the Sacramento Bee:
Plane that crashed in Montana had stops in Vacaville and Oroville this morning
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By Phillip Reese and Jennifer Garza
Published: Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009 - 5:15 pm
Last Modified: Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009 - 5:30 pm
A plane that left Oroville, a small town about 90 miles north of Sacramento, this morning crashed in Montana three hours later, killing up to 17 people, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.
"The plane was in route from Oroville to Bozeman for reasons we don't know," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. "They diverted into Butte and crashed 500 feet short of the runway."
Tom Hagler, a mechanic at the Oroville airport, said this evening that he arrived at the airport at 11 a.m. and saw the plane. He let about a dozen children who were on the plane use the airport bathroom. The plane didn't refuel.
Hagler said he spoke briefly with the pilot but he didn't recognize the pilot or any of the children. He didn't know if any members of the group were local.
Hagler said he would be surprised if as many as 17 people could have been on the single prop plane.
An FAA spokesman told the Associated Press that the children could have been part of a ski trip.
The plane had left Redlands, CA, early today and flew to Vacaville, according to records at flightaware.com. It stayed in Vacaville for 50 minutes before taking a short flight to Oroville. It was on the ground in Oroville for 30 minutes before leaving for Montana.
Oroville law enforcement authorities said they knew nothing about the plane. No one from Oroville Airport could be reached for comment.
Dorr says the plane was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing Inc. in Enterprise, Ore., but he didn't know who was operating the plane.
Calls to local authorities in Butte were not immediately returned.
Plane that crashed in Montana had stops in Vacaville and Oroville this morning - Latest News - sacbee.com
(Vacaville is <100 miles SSW of Oroville. Redlands in the foothills East of Los Angeles, over 400 miles from Oroville. Speculation: Did they pick up skiers in Redlands, refuel in Vacaville or Oroville, then head to Montana???))
Edit, further speculation: Lunch in Vacaville at the Nut Tree Airport? It's a fun airport to visit.
Nut Tree, Vacaville, CA
Very sad.