From Newsgroup: rec.aviation.piloting
Four people were killed when an electric plane built from a kit crashed in California u including the experimental pilot and his new fiancoe,
according to reports.
Pilot Lochie Ferrier was flying a Cozy Mark IV, a single-engine, four-
seater 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 crashing toward the water after first
hearing othe engine sputter,o said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo County SheriffAs Office.
The Australian-born pilot died with his fiancoe, venture capitalist
Cassidy Petit, their friend Emma Willmer-Shiles and a fourth person who
has yet to be identified.
Ferrier, who graduated from MIT in 2019 with a 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.
His LinkedIn also listed him as working for Beta Technologies, a Vermont-
based electronic aerospace company.
oInterested in electric airplanes. Design, build, fly!o his one-line
profile read.
Ferrier was well known in the so-called oexperimental aircrafto community,
and was described as a osmart, capable pilot,o CBS News Bay Area reported.
Experts insisted that such aircraft should not be dismissed as unsafe just because theyAre built from kits.
oItAs a proven design,o retired airline captain Ross Sagun told CBS News
Bay Area, saying it is also owell tested.o
oHaving said that, itAs up to the person building the airplane to properly construct it and maintain good engineering and building practices,o he
told the outlet. oThatAs hard to guarantee.o
Scott Miller, a pilot and San Jose State University lecturer, told KTVU
that okit planes are flown every day of the week.o
oSometimes tracking the history of these types of airplanes [is] a little
more difficult,o he said, because most do not ohave any flight data or
cockpit voice recorders.o
Ferirer was recently engaged to Petit, of Hayward, who worked for San Francisco venture capital firm RH Capital.
They and the unidentified fourth person are presumed dead even though
their bodies have yet to be found, the reports said.
The body of Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco, was recovered Monday
morning near the crash site, NBC Bay Area reported. The MIT grad was identified by the San Mateo County CoronerAs Office.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
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.
https://nypost.com/2024/01/17/news/4-dead-as-kit-built-plane-crashes- including-pilot-fiancee/
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