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The pilot who crashed his plane into the Sandia Mountains was known among peers in California as a "remarkable" neurosurgeon.

Robert P. Iacono, 54, of Loma Linda, Calif., was well known among neurosurgeons, said Roger Hadley, dean of Loma Linda University's Medical School.

"He was operating on the frontiers," said Hadley, who worked with Iacono a few years ago. "When you're working on the frontiers of neurosurgery, you're a remarkable surgeon."

Iacono was on his way to Mississippi to visit family when his six-seat plane crashed the night of June 16 about five miles northeast of La Luz trailhead, State Police said.

Using identification found at the crash site Monday, investigators were able to identify Iacono and determine he was not carrying any passengers, said Wes Crownover, field coordinator for the rescue team.

Rescue volunteers were alerted to the crash site Saturday night when the plane sent out an emergency location transmission.

It is protocol for the rescue team, which is activated and administered through State Police, to locate the beacon with ground crews.

He said the terrain made it difficult to pinpoint the crash site, because the radio transmissions bounced off cliffs and canyon walls.

Volunteers were able to locate the wreckage Sunday evening and directed a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter to fly over with a small crew, including a medic and a field investigator from the Office of the Medical Investigator, State Police spokesman Lt. Rick Anglada said.

While flying over the crash site, rescuers spotted Iacono's remains but delayed the recovery mission when they saw a bear nearby.

Investigators worked with Game and Fish officers to keep bears at bay as they searched Monday, State Police said.

Searchers said the wreckage was spread over a quarter-mile of rocky area and cliffs. The plane, a 1980 Beech Baron 58 registered to Iacono's father's company, was about 500 feet from clearing the cliff it hit, Crownover said.

Iacono's remains were turned over to the OMI.