Truckee Residents Talk About Running To Jet Crash In Search Of Survivors

TRUCKEE (CBS13) - As the investigation into the Truckee jet crash gets underway, neighbors talked about rushing towards the burning wreckage to look for survivors.

Matt Mehan remembers his house shaking, then hearing a massive crash as the jet went down near his Truckee home.

"And we just hit the ground running -- went straight out there and saw the flames and everything," he said. "We tried to get as close as possible to see if there were any survivors we could help.."

But at that moment he knew nothing could be done.  Everyone inside the plane was gone. So far, no one has been identified by authorities.

"If you look at the debris field you can't tell that it was an airplane -- it's just debris," said Richard Holke.

Seeing the wreckage now, Holke can't imagine what the final moments were like for those on board.

"It's just a trash pile," he said.

Audio from air traffic control shows the pilot did have to circle before landing but showed no other signs of concern or anything wrong.

According to the FAA, four people: two passengers, and two crew members, were aboard the flight. They were all killed. The group was traveling from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho heading to the Truckee-Tahoe Airport.

"There's an A-framed house and one of the tires from the jet went through his garage door," said Holke. "If the trees hadn't been there, the jet would've gone into his house."

Investigators with the NTSB walked the crash site Tuesday afternoon taking pictures of the wreckage. All that was recognizable were wheels from the plane's landing gear.

"It's a little heavy we definitely don't see that too often," said Mehan. "Prayers go out to the families that were affected. I wish there was something we could've done better."

A Florida-based company owns the plane, but we don't know if the company owners were on board at the time.

We reached out to the company for comment but, so far, have not received a response.