A Cozy Mark IV single-engine light plane that can be built from a kit met with a tragic fate as it plunged into the Pacific Ocean near Half Moon Bay, California, on the evening of January 14, 2024.
At the crash location near Moss Beach, investigators discovered the aircraft submerged and inverted in the ocean.
The incident was first reported around 7:15 p.m., as witnesses near the Moss Beach Distillery reported the aircraft flying erratically before it descended into the ocean, sparking concern among onlookers.
Melissa Richter, visiting from Maine and dining on the patio at the distillery, described the plane’s engine losing power, akin to what one might hear in a movie when a plane is about to crash.
The following afternoon, a commercial fishing boat discovered the body of a woman in the water not far from where the plane went down. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office later identified her as 27-year-old Emma Willmer-Shiles, a resident of San Francisco. Her connection to the crash was not immediately confirmed.
Four people are assumed to have been on the plane at the time of the crash. Among them were the pilot, identified as Lochie Ferrier from Oakland and Willmer-Shiles from San Francisco.
The identities of the other two passengers are yet to be confirmed, but they are believed to include Ferrier’s fiancée Cassidy Petit.
The search for survivors, initially undertaken by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard, was suspended Monday mid-morning after a nearly six-hour effort covering a 28-square-mile area.
The tide and weather conditions posed challenges in the recovery operations, with parts of the wreckage, including what is believed to be the fuselage, still unrecovered.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other agencies have commenced an in-depth investigation into the crash. Factors such as mechanical failure, structural issues, and weather conditions are under scrutiny.
Notably, the flight took off from an East Bay airport, made a brief stop at Half Moon Bay Airport, and then recommenced its journey before the tragic crash.
The plane was registered to Winged Wallabies Inc. in Oakland and had conducted several flights over the Bay Area.
