Two people are dead after a single-engine plane crashed near Luther Pass between El Dorado and Alpine Counties.

Alpine County deputies say they were notified of an overdue aircraft early Thursday morning and say the plane crashed the night before, between 5 p.m. -6 p.m.

Deputies responded to the plane’s GPS transponder and found the wreckage adjacent to Willow Creek Road around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday. 

Alpine County Sheriff’s Deputies are handling the coroner’s investigation while the FAA and Forest Service are expected to conduct their own investigations.

The FAA says the plane left Lodi Airport.

On X, the NTSB posted that it is investigating the crash of a Luscombe 8A aircraft near South Lake Tahoe.

The names of the two people killed haven't been released, and the investigation is ongoing.