Presumed pilot’s body found at crash site

A body found at the scene of a small plane crash in a rural area of Alameda County Tuesday is believed to be the pilot’s, a fire spokeswoman said.

Crews found the wreckage of the plane off Palomares Road in Castro Valley this afternoon. The plane was found in bushy terrain and crews are working on determining what resources are needed to recover it, county fire spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office will be taking over the recovery efforts, Knowles said. The Alameda County coroner’s bureau is responding to recover the body.

Fire crews started looking for the Piper PA-32 single-engine plane after air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot at about 11:30 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was en route from Lincoln in Placer County to Oakland but was lost about 12 miles east of Oakland International Airport, FAA officials said.

The Alameda County Fire Department received reports of a downed aircraft near Sunol at 12:02 p.m. and began a ground search for it since fog prevented them from searching by air, Knowles said.

Fire officials said at about 3:45 p.m. that firefighters and sheriff’s deputies had located the wreckage of the plane.

Two firefighters were injured while searching for the plane, one with a leg injury and another with a shoulder injury, Knowles said. Neither injury is considered life-threatening.

Firefighters with the Alameda County department, the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, Oakland fire and Cal Fire assisted with the search along with the sheriff’s office and the East Bay Regional Park District.