Body at wreckage identified as Truckee pilot

Authorities have identified the body of Truckee pilot Clayton Beck in the wreckage of his small plane near Sierraville.

Beck, 37, was reported missing by his wife Wednesday after he failed to return from a flight that afternoon. He had taken off from Truckee Tahoe Airport at 12:40 p.m.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol spotted wreckage of the plane Saturday about 25 miles north of Truckee, according to Nevada County Sheriff’s.

“From the original siting we called Sierra County Sheriff’s and assisted them as well as California Highway Patrol,” said Sgt. Jeff Pettitt with Nevada County Sheriff’s. “Once the recovery was complete the site was handed over to [National Transportation Safety Board] and [Federal Aviation Administration].”

Josh Cawthra, investigator in charge with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation into the cause of the crash is underway and an initial report is expected in the next five days.

“The wreckage is being recovered and taken to a salvage yard today [Monday] in Sacramento where we can take a deeper look at the airplane,” Cawthra said.

The complete investigation could take up to one year, he said.

Pettitt said Sierra County Sheriff’s are conducting the coroner’s report.

Beck, and his wife, Lisa, have two young sons. He was a fixture in the Truckee skiing community and trained Olympians Johnny Mosely and Shannon Bahkre.

“Clay was a ski coach here,” said Rachael Woods, spokeswoman for Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. “We’re all very sad. This is an absolute loss and tragedy, and most of all we lost our friend.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report