Four people were reportedly killed when an electric plane built from a kit crashed in California, including the experimental pilot and his new fiancée.
Pilot Lochie Ferrier was flying a Cozy Mark IV, a single-engine, four-seat plane, when it crashed around 7 p.m. Sunday near Moss Beach off the coast of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, KTVU reported.
A 911 caller reported seeing it crash into the water after first hearing “the engine sputtering,” said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
The Australian-born pilot died with his fiancee, venture capitalist Cassidy Petit, her friend Emma Willmer-Shiles and a fourth person who has not yet been identified.
Ferrier, who graduated from MIT in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, worked at Magpie Aviation, which specializes in electric aircraft, and was the owner of the doomed plane, according to the outlet.
Four people died when this Cozy Mark IV, a kit-built electric plane, crashed in California. China News Service via Getty Images The plane was registered to the Winged Wallabies in Oakland. Instagram/lochieferrier
His LinkedIn also lists him as working for Beta Technologies, an electronics aerospace company based in Vermont.
“Interested in electric airplanes. Design, build, fly! his one-line profile said.
Ferrier was well known in the so-called “experimental aircraft” community and was described as an “intelligent and capable pilot,” CBS News Bay Area reported.
Australian pilot Lochie Ferrier and his fiancee Cassidy Petit died along with two other people. Instagram/lochieferrier
Experts insisted that these planes should not be dismissed as unsafe just because they are built from kits.
“It’s a proven design,” retired airline captain Ross Sagun told CBS News Bay Area, stating that it’s also “well tested.”
“That said, it is up to the person building the plane to build it properly and maintain good engineering and construction practices,” he told the outlet. “That’s hard to guarantee.”
Lochie Ferrier and Cassidy Petit had recently gotten engaged. Instagram/lochieferrier
Scott Miller, a pilot and professor at San Jose State University, told KTVU that “equipped planes fly every day of the week.”
“Sometimes tracing the history of this type of aircraft [is] “It’s a little more difficult,” he said, because most don’t “have flight data or cockpit voice recorders.”
Lochie Ferrier was well known as an experimental pilot. Beta
Ferirer was recently engaged to Petit, of Hayward, who worked for San Francisco venture capital firm RH Capital.
They and the fourth unidentified person are presumed dead even though their bodies have not yet been found, according to reports.
The body of Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco, was recovered Monday morning near the crash site, NBC Bay Area reported. The MIT graduate was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office.
Emma Willmer-Shiles also died in the crash. Family Aid authorities have located the bodies of the newly engaged couples. China News Service via Getty Images
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The NTSB said a preliminary report on this accident 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.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn