Efforts resume to recover body of 20-year-old woman killed in plane crash

RAMONA - Efforts to recover the body of a 20-year-old woman killed when a small plane crashed in a remote mountainside area north of Ramona are expected to resume today.

Two men, 25 and 28, sustained only minor injuries when the aircraft crashed for unknown reasons near Pamo Valley in the Cleveland National Forest around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. They were able to climb out of the crash site and use their cell phones to call for help, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and Cal Fire.

Cal Fire and sheriff's department personnel located the downed plane about an hour later and rescued the surviving occupants. Both were taken to a hospital to be treated, authorities said.

The body of the woman killed in the crash was left at the scene, which was described as largely inaccessible. Recovery efforts on Sunday were suspended at nightfall, authorities said.

Personnel from the county Medical Examiner's Office are expected to be dispatched sometime during the morning hours.

The Cessna was registered to the American Aviation Academy, according to media reports. It was flying out of Gillespie Field Airport as an instructor/student flight, according to the sheriff's department.

The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the crash, according to Cal Fire.