Pilot dead after small plane crashes into hillside near Upland

The wreckage of a small airplane that was reported missing early Tuesday has been found on a steep hillside near Upland, authorities said.

A Piper PA28 flying to Riverside was reported missing before 5 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane at about 4:30 a.m. after it took off from Upland, the FAA said. Authorities requested a sheriff’s search and rescue team after they lost communication with the aircraft, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Elisabeth Sachs.

Searchers found the aircraft crashed on a grass- and brush-covered hillside between two canyons about a mile east of San Antonio Dam about 6 a.m., Sachs said.

The plane’s lone occupant was found dead, the San Bernardino County Fire Department tweeted.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

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UPDATES:

9:50 a.m.: This article was updated with the condition of the pilot.

This article was originally published at 6:55 a.m.