Renowned climber and photographer Galen Rowell was killed Sunday morning in a plane crash near the Bishop, California airport, according to Inyo County officials. Rowell's wife, Barbara, pilot Tom Reid, and another passenger identified as Carol McAfee, also perished in the violent crash short of the runway, said Darcy Ellis, a reporter with the Inyo Register in Bishop.

The Inyo Register also reported that the county sheriff's office determined the plane took off from Oakland where the pilot had filed a flight plan to Bishop. The accident was reported at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The county coroner is planning to do an FAA-required autopsy while the National Transportation Safety Board begins its investigation

Eyewitness reports indicated one wing of the Aero Commander twin engine aircraft made an uncharacteristic dip as it approached the airport at a lower than normal altitude. The aircraft crashed hard shortly thereafter. Reports that those in the aircraft reported a mechanical problem and imminent crash landing have not been confirmed.

The Aero Commander was owned by Reid, who was an experienced pilot with more than 30 years in aviation.

Rowell had recently relocated to Bishop from the Bay Area. He bought a former bank building in Bishop where he opened his Mountain Light Gallery in May 2000.

Rowell made a name for himself as a climber doing big wall routes in Yosemite in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His book of photography documenting those days, The Vertical World of Yosemite, led to dozens of other books, both photography collections and expedition accounts. High and Wild, Many People Come Looking, and In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods are some of Rowell's best-known books documenting his expeditions to the Sierra, the Himalaya and Alaska.

— Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff