4 of 6 victims killed in Truckee jet crash informally identified, including pilot

Four of the six people killed Monday when a jet crashed near Truckee-Tahoe Airport have been unofficially identified by family or colleagues.

Lisa Hollerbach-Ebaugh wrote in a social media post that her husband, pilot Bret Ebaugh, died in Monday’s crash, which she called “horrific.”

“To his friends and colleagues, an all around good guy and the best damn pilot anyone would be fortunate to fly with,” she wrote in a statement, shared by a friend in a public Facebook group for pilots.

Hideaway Properties, a real estate agency for a luxury community in La Quinta, wrote in an email to members that Hideaway founders Ryan and Christine Thomas as well as real estate agent Kevin Kvarnlov were killed in the crash, KESQ and the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs each reported.

The Sacramento Bee reached out to Hideaway for comment Friday but did not immediately receive a response.

Six people — four passengers and two flight crew members — were aboard the aircraft, a Bombardier CL 600 jet, when it crashed and burst into flames Monday afternoon, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report.

There were no survivors. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

No victims have been formally identified. Authorities originally said three were killed, later increasing the toll to four and then again Wednesday to six.

Sheriff’s officials said DNA evidence must be used to identify the victims due to the nature of the crash, a process that could take months.

Flight logs show the jet, which seats up to 14 people and a crew of two, was traveling from the Coeur D’Alene Airport in Idaho and was scheduled to continue to Thermal in Riverside County before heading to Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles.

The Truckee-Tahoe Airport in a Facebook post said the involved aircraft was a twin turbojet Challenger 605 manufactured by Bombardier. FAA records show the jet as registered to a company called Tarco Aircraft Funding LLC, based in Florida.

A LinkedIn page for Ebaugh shows him working since at least 2013 as a contract pilot. Ebaugh wrote in his profile that he had 2,300 hours of flight experience with Bombardier Challenger 600 series aircraft.

The LinkedIn page shows Ebaugh as “type rated” by the FAA to fly Bombardier Challenger series jets as well as Boeing’s 757, 767 and a few other types of aircraft. An FAA registry search confirmed that a pilot named Thomas Bret Ebaugh has all of those certifications.

Ebaugh was a certified member of the Professional Disc Golf Association, which shows his hometown as Lakeville, Minn.

Disc golf enthusiasts shared in mourning on social media.

“Bret Ebaugh joined the community of Lexington a couple of years ago, and some time around then picked up a disc and immediately fell in love with the sport,” Facebook user Jarrett Spriggs wrote in a public post to a group titled “Lexington KY Disc Golf Scene.” “He immediately was hooked.”

Spriggs said the Bluegrass Disc Golf Association in Kentucky has “ideas on the table to honor Bret’s memory.”