The California Highway Patrol says two people are dead and another is critically hurt after a plane crash this morning. The Federal Aviation Administration says a single-engine piston Navion-B crashed on the west side of Highway 267 near Mercer Flats and the Northstar golf course shortly before 7:40 a.m. An spokesperson from the nearby Truckee-Tahoe Airport says the pilot had left the airport headed east at 7:33 a.m. and reported engine problems almost immediately, and was trying to return to the airport when the crash occurred a mile southeast of the airport. There were three people on board the plane. No names have been released. FAA is investigating.