Four people were killed when an electric plane built from kits crashed in California – including the experimental pilot and his new fiancee, according to reports.
Pilot Lochie Ferrier was flying the 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 an “engine sputter,” said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
The Australian-born pilot died along with his fiancée, 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.
Four people were killed 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 aerospace electronics company based in Vermont.
“Interested in electric airplanes. Design, build, fly!” the one-line profile is read.
Ferrier was well-known in the so-called “experimental aircraft” community, and was described as a “smart and capable pilot,” CBS News Bay Area reported.
The Australian-born pilot, Lochie Ferrier, and his fiancée, Cassidy Petit, were killed along with two others. Instagram/lochieferrier
Experts insist that such aircraft should not be considered unsafe just because they are built from kits.
“It’s a proven design,” retired airline captain Ross Sagun told CBS News Bay Area, saying it was also “well tested.”
“Having said that, it is up to the people who build the airplanes to build them properly and maintain good engineering and construction practices,” he told the outlet. “That’s hard to guarantee.”
Lochie Ferrier and Cassidy Petit recently got engaged. Instagram/lochieferrier
Scott Miller, a pilot and San Jose State University lecturer, told KTVU that “kit planes are flown every day of the week.”
“Sometimes trace the history of this type of airplane [is] a little more difficult,” he said, because most “don’t have any flight data or cockpit voice recorders.”
Lochie Ferrier is best known as an experimental pilot. Beta
Ferirer recently became engaged to Petit, of Hayward, who works for the San Francisco venture capital firm RH Capital.
They and the fourth unidentified person are presumed dead although their bodies have yet to be found, the report said.
The body of Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco, was found 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 was also killed in the crash. The Family Distribution Authority has found the bodies of a newly engaged couple. China News Service via Getty Images
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The NTSB said a preliminary report on the 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.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
