Oakland pilot killed in Half Moon Bay plane crash ID'd by source, 3 others were onboard
OAKLAND, Calif. - Federal investigators are still trying to determine why a small plane crashed into the ocean off the San Mateo County coastline over the weekend.
National Transportation Safety Board now says there were four people onboard the plane when it went down.
One of the victims killed was a pilot from Oakland, according to a source. The pilot of the plane was identified as Lochie Ferrier.
The source said Ferrier was known in the "experimental aircraft" community. He worked for Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based electronic aerospace company, according to his LinkedIn profile. Social media also shows he worked as a pilot for East Bay-based Magpie Aviation.
The San Mateo County Coroner on Tuesday identified a woman killed onboard as, Emma Willmer-Shiles of San Francisco. The other victims, whose names have not been released, are unaccounted for.
Officials said the weather is making it difficult to find the victims and more of the wreckage. NTSB officials said their investigators are continuing their search for debris, but the rough seas are hindering those efforts.
"There may still be pieces of the aircraft that is floating or slightly submerged and recovery of that would help determine what went wrong," said Professor Ken Gray, a small aircraft pilot.
Gray said the other passengers may be with the pilot or the aircraft itself. "Or they may have been flung free of the debris," he said.
Although officials have not disclosed the owner of the downed Cozy Mark IV — a four-seat light aircraft that can be built from a kit — a source said that it belonged to Ferrier.
The single-engine electric plane crashed near Moss Beach shortly after takeoff on Sunday.
Woman's body found after plane crashes off Half Moon Bay coast
A woman's body was found in the ocean after a plane crashed near Half Moon Bay, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
The crash was reported shortly after 7 p.m. by a 911 caller who observed the plane in distress, descending toward the water near Half Moon Bay, said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
"They heard the engine sputter, and they kept eyes on the plane until they lost sight of it, just over the horizon. That prompted a search and rescue by the sheriff's office and coast guard," said Hallworth.
On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard sent out a diver and the sheriff’s office deployed a drone to search for the downed plane. That night, wreckage from the plane was found near Ross Cove.
The Coast Guard said a helicopter and boat crew looked in a 28-square mile area for nearly 6 hours for victims before calling off the search around mid-morning Monday.
Hours later, a woman’s body was spotted floating in the water by the crew of a commercial fishing boat, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office believes she was on the plane because of where she was found.
The tide had pushed part of the wreckage onto the shore near the cove, according to Hallworth.
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"We’ve been able to recover a good deal of it," Hallworth said. "What we think is the fuselage we physically cannot bring up, so that’s actually still on the beach."
The plane originated from the East Bay, Hallworth said, but he declined to name the exact airport it took off from.
"The aircraft itself doesn't have any flight data or cockpit voice recorders, because it's such a small, light aircraft. If there was a mechanical failure of some type, the wreckage would certainly indicate that," said Scott Miller, a pilot and San Jose State University lecturer. "Kit planes are flown every day of the week. Sometimes tracking the history of these types of airplanes are a little more difficult."
In a statement on Tuesday, the NTSB said its team arrived "to document wreckage that had come ashore and interview witnesses."
Their investigation focuses on multiple factors including; a flight data track, air traffic communications, maintenance records, the weather and the pilot's background.
NTSB said a preliminary report into this crash will be completed in two to three weeks. However, a probable cause report will take between one and two years.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved in the investigation.