Search crews find wreckage of missing single-engine plane bound for Henderson

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office say a debris field spanning almost a quarter mile was found on Panama Lane and South Allen Road.

In this photo provided by the Bakersfield Californian, investigators work near a scene of an aircraft crash in Bakersfield, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. According to a statement from the FAA, the plane was travelling from San Jose, California to Henderson Executive Airport, outside Las Vegas in Clark Country, Nevada. Both the FAA and National Tranportation Safety Board are investigating the crash site.

During the night Saturday, searchers located five victims – the total number aboard the plane – and the coroner’s office recovered their bodies, King said. “It’s going to affect a smaller community, I’m told, (far) north of Bakersfield”.

Radar shows that the plane was flying in excess of 250 miles per hour – extremely fast, even for the high-performance Piper PA32 Turbo Lance aircraft – as Price called in his first panicked Mayday to Federal Aviation Administration controllers, who directed him to the nearby Bakersfield airport.

Moreno said they are working with NTSB and FAA to figure out the cause of the crash.

The Sheriff’s Office, Bakersfield Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Kern County Fire Department responded to the area and conducted a ground search, the release said.

It can take the NTSB months or longer to find the probable cause for an accident, CNN reported.

It is unclear if weather was a factor in the crash. Information on the exact location of the crash wasn’t immediately available.