Experimental pilot, his venture capitalist fiancee and their MIT grad friend are among four killed when HOMEMADE plane crashes into California’s Half Moon Bay
An experimental airplane pilot, his fiancée and a friend studying at MIT were among four people killed when a homemade plane crashed in California.
Lochie Ferrier, Cassidy Petit and Emma Willmer-Shiles, 27, were named Tuesday as the victims of the impact in Half Moon Bay, near San Francisco, on Sunday.
Willmer-Shiles’ body was recovered as rescuers continued to search for the other three, while a fourth person on the run has not yet been named by police.
Gruesome images show parts of the wreckage of the Cozy Mark IV – a four-seat light aircraft that can be assembled from a kit – washed up on the rocks this week.
Lochie Ferrier, Cassidy Petit (pictured together) and Emma Willmer-Shiles were named Tuesday as the victims of the impact in Half Moon Bay, near San Francisco, on Sunday
Emma Willmer-Shiles, photo. Her body was recovered while rescuers continued to search for the other three. A fourth person on the run has yet to be named by police.
Gruesome images show parts of the wreckage of the Cozy Mark IV – a four-seat light aircraft that can be assembled from a kit – washed up on the rocks this week
Known in the “experimental aircraft” community, Ferrier graduated from MIT in 2019 with an aeronautical engineering degree and worked at Beta Technologies – an electric aircraft company.
He moved to California to work at Magpie Aviation in Hayward, which specialized in electric aircraft.
On October 1, he announced his engagement to Cassidy Petit, a venture capitalist at RH Capital who specializes in reproductive and maternal health — with Ferrier proposing while on vacation in Baja California.
The pair shared their love of the outdoors, with their social media filled with scenes of climbing, surfing, snorkeling, hiking and skiing.
Her last post on Instagram, on January 1, was an engagement photo taken in front of the snow-capped mountains of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Well known in the “experimental aircraft” community, Ferrier graduated from MIT in 2019 with an aeronautical engineering degree and worked at Beta Technologies – an electric aircraft company
He moved to California to work at Magpie Aviation in Hayward, which specialized in electric aircraft
The third passenger was 27-year-old Willmer-Shiles, known as Pearl, who graduated from MIT the year before Ferrier.
The fourth person on board has not been named. The plane took off from Hayward and toured the bay Sunday before landing in Half Moon Bay at 5:04 p.m.
The plane was on the ground for two hours, then took off again from Half Moon Bay and crashed shortly afterwards.
Witnesses from the Moss Beach Distillery told the story NBC Bay Area they saw the plane flying ‘erratically’ before losing sight of it.
They also said they heard what sounded like engine sputtering.
“They heard the engine sputtering and watched the plane until they lost sight of it just over the horizon,” said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
“That prompted a search and rescue effort by the sheriff’s office and the Coast Guard.” Crews are still searching for some bodies and the remains of the plane.
The fourth person on board has not been named. The plane took off from Hayward and toured the bay Sunday before landing in Half Moon Bay at 5:04 p.m. The plane was on the ground for two hours, then took off again from Half Moon Bay and crashed shortly afterwards
The Coast Guard said a helicopter and boat crew searched a 17-square-mile area for victims for nearly six hours Monday before calling off the search mid-morning.
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 unorthodox nature of the aircraft complicates an investigation.
“The plane itself has no flight data or cockpit voice recorders because it is such a small, light plane,” said Scott Miller, a pilot and lecturer at San Jose State University.
He told KTVU: ‘If there was some sort of mechanical failure, the wreckage would certainly indicate that.
“Kit planes are flown every day of the week. Sometimes it is a bit more difficult to follow the history of these types of aircraft.’
The NTSB said a preliminary report on the crash will be completed in two to three weeks.
A probable cause report will take one to two years to complete. The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved in the investigation.