Drugs and cash found on crashed plane

PHOENIX (KPNX) - Law enforcement officials discovered 20 pounds of marijuana and thousands of dollars in cash in the wreckage of a small plane bound for Lago Vista, Texas.

Four people died in the crash Wednesday, including the pilot and owner of the plane, David Tuntland, 45, of Cedar Park, Texas. Three other victims have not been identified.

During the ongoing investigation at the crash site in Holbrook, Ariz., investigators received information from Texas authorities that the plane at the crash site was being watched for suspected drug activities as a “transporter."

The plane reportedly left California earlier on Wednesday and landed at the airport in Holbrook to refuel. An eyewitness described the twin engine plane pulling up at a steep angle before plunging to the ground. Another report indicated the pilot was not feeling well and had vomited before the plane took off.

According to friends, Tuntland owned the plane for a little more than a year and kept it at the airport in Lago Vista. He was a pilot and flight instructor.

A Web site tracking some commercial and private flights indicates the plane departed from Lakeway Airpark just before 10 a.m. Tuesday on its way to Holbrook, Ariz. before flying to Santa Rosa, Calif.

Federal Aviation Authorities said the twin-engine Beechcraft TravelAir BE-95 took off from Santa Rosa, Calif. and stopped in the northeastern Arizona town of Holbrook to refuel Wednesday around 4 p.m.

Officials said it was on its way to Lago Vista, Texas when it crashed about a quarter-mile east of Holbrook, Ariz. with three males and one female aboard.