Gilroy family dies in plane crash, investigation could take months

GILROY, Calif. (KTVU) - Investigators were at the site of a plane crash on Monday in Gilroy where all five family members involved died over the weekend. A cause in the crash has yet to be determined. 

A man went with his family to Reid Hillview Airport  in San Jose on Saturday.

The family was flying in a single engine Piper PA-32, headed to Nevada. When it was over Bakersfield, the pilot started experiencing problems and called into air traffic control to say there was an emergency.

Air traffic control was directing the pilot to the closest airport, but there was no response.

The plane disappeared from radar near Bakersfield around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to Ian Gregor from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Kern County Sheriff's Office was notified at 4:26 p.m., and roughly three hours later, search crews found a debris-field roughly a quarter-mile in length in an almond orchard southwest of the intersection of Panama and South Allen lanes, just outside of Bakersfield in unincorporated Kern County, according to sheriff's Sgt. Mark King.

Five victims were located during a search of the area and recovered by the coroner's office, King said

Friends of the family identified the pilot of the plane as Jason Price. His wife Olga was on board along with their two daughters and one son. The children have been identified as 14-year-old John, 10-year-old Mary and 9-year-old Olivia.

The paper says they were on their way to visit friends in Henderson, Nevada.

There was light rain in the area and pilots reported icing conditions at higher altitudes, but it's not clear if weather was a factor in the crash.

A spokesman from the National Transportation Safety Board said the debris field was a half-mile long. Authorities recovered a tablet, similar to an iPad, where they hope to review the plane's GPS coordinates. 

The FAA and NTSB said their investigation could take months to determine a cause.

Meanwhile, family and friends are devastated. 

"She was always the life of the party. very social, and very talkative," said Tricia Alvarez who lived next door. "She was very loving and that's how I remember the kids as well. They were very sweet, sweet kids."