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Pilot identified from fatal Tahoe National Forest crash

Staff report

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Law enforcement officials this week identified the pilot who died after crashing in a remote area of the Tahoe National Forest last Thursday.

Bob J. Richardson, 67, of Reno, was the only person aboard the twin-engine Cessna 421 at the time of the crash, which occurred east of Stampede and Boca reservoirs, roughly 15 miles northeast of Truckee and just southwest of Verdi Peak in Sierra County.

Richardson is originally from Los Gatos and often flew in and out of the Grass Valley Airport for business, said Sierra County Sheriff John Evans.



Richardson was a veteran of the United States Air Force, serving at the rank of captain during the Vietnam era.

The purpose of his flight was attendance at an advisory board for the College of Engineering of the University of Nevada at Reno, where he was a board member.



He had “mostly retired” from being a director on several boards of high technology companies.

He was identified by the California Department of Justice Latent Prints Section with assistance from his family in obtaining prior exemplars.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.


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