MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A person has died after a plane crash in Merced County.

The Merced County Sheriff's Office says deputies arrived at the crash site near Interstate 5, south of Los Banos, just after 7:40 p.m.

Sheriff Vern Warnke says the pilot flew from an airport in the San Jose area and encountered difficulty with the plane.

He adds the plane was circling the area for about an hour before it nose-dived into the ground.

"We initially started this in hopes it would be a rescue operation, but, unfortunately, it's not that way," Sheriff Warnke said.

Investigators confirm that another pilot was following the downed plane but do not know the reason why.

The pilot has not been identified.

The FAA and the NTSB will be handling the investigation over the coming days.

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