Pot, cash found on plane that crashed in Arizona after leaving Sonoma County airport

Federal investigators Thursday found more than 12 pounds of marijuana and a suitcase containing a “substantial” amount of cash in the wreckage of a plane that crashed Wednesday in Holbrook, Ariz., several hours after leaving Sonoma County’s airport, officials said.

Among the four victims was Kyle Peters, 21, of Santa Rosa, Cmdr. Bob Sutton of the Navajo County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office told the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman newspaper.

Two other victims also were identified: David Tuntland, 45, and Catherine A. Gordon, 42, both of Cedar Park, Texas. The name of the fourth victim was being withheld pending notification of relatives but was from Cedar Park, Sutton said.

The four bodies were removed Wednesday night from the aircraft, a twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was registered to Tuntland, who is believed to have been piloting the craft.

Tuntland owned Lone Star Racing, which had been based in Austin until about two years ago and involved motorcycle repairs, neighbors said.

Sutton told the American-Statesman that the marijuana and cash were found by FAA investigators. He said Texas law enforcement officials had been monitoring the plane for illegal activities.

“We did have words from Texas state police that they had been watching it for a while,” he told the newspaper.

The plane had made a quick trip to California from the Rusty Allen Airport at Lago Vista, Texas, where it was based, Sutton said.

On Tuesday, the plane flew from Lago Vista to Holbrook where it stopped to refuel before going on to Santa Rosa. The next day, it left Santa Rosa and stopped again at Holbrook for fuel while en route to Lago Vista, Sutton said.

KVUE-TV in Austin reported a family had hired Tuntland to fly them from Lakeway to California to pick up their child. But after leaving Holbrook on the return trip, the plane crashed into the desert and burst into flames shortly after takeoff at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The Lago Vista airport is about 30 miles from Austin, with about 45 planes based in privately owned hangars or tied down on the airport apron.

Sutton also reported the pilot had been ill during the flight.

After an initial examination at the crash site by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board, the wreckage was going to be taken to a Phoenix salvage yard, where it would undergo a second, more thorough examination.

Jim Awalt, vice president of the Rusty Allen Airport property owners association, said the Beechcraft was made in 1960, had been tied down on the apron and he had not seen it fly that often.

Staff Writer Bob Norberg contributed to this story.