By Tobias Young

Both the pilot and passenger who were killed Oct. 7 in a crash at the Petaluma Municipal Airport were experienced aviation experts.

The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday, Oct. 20, confirmed the identity of the two men as Rodney Eshelman, 81, of Mill Valley, and Barney Locke, 78, of Glen Ellen.

Eshelman, who is believed to have been piloting the plane, was the registered owner of the experimental, “amateur-built” Van's RV-7A, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. He likely built the aircraft himself from a kit, according to a pilots’ online forum.

Aviation experts say an experimental plane is not inherently risky; it is defined as a plane that lacks a standard certificate for airworthiness. The definition represents a classification rather than a safety rating. Test-flying a newly built experimental plane carries more risk than one that has been thoroughly vetted, according to High Performance Aviation news. However, FAA records show the plane that crashed was built nine years ago.

Locke is identified as an airlines and aviation professional on LinkedIn. He was an avid swimmer who competed as recently as 2023 in the Sharkfest Swim, an open-water competitive race under the Golden Gate Bridge from the base of the bridge’s south tower to Horseshoe Cove in Sausalito. 

Eshelman was an experienced pilot, holding a commercial pilot’s license with ratings for multiple engines and instruments. During a 40-year career as a partner, managing partner, and general counsel at the law firm Carroll, Burdick & McDonough in San Francisco, he specialized in product liability and insurance litigation. Before retiring in 2014, he represented airplane manufacturers in major product liability cases and insurance claims, defending companies over alleged defective parts, improper pilot training, and negligent entrustment of aircraft.

According to aviation instructor Eliot Floersch, of San Mateo, commenting in an online instructors’ forum, Eshelman and Locke took off from the private San Rafael Airport at 9:30 a.m., 90 minutes before Floersch said he left the same airport. They landed in Petaluma a short time later, probably for breakfast at the airport restaurant, the Two Niner Diner, before departing and crashing soon after at 10:40 a.m.

Floersch, citing a witness, said the plane reached an altitude of 200 feet before experiencing an apparent engine failure. The pilot appeared to have been trying to circle back to the runway before the plane plummeted to the ground between the Petaluma Community Sports Fields and the first tee of Rooster Run Golf Course. The plane burst into flames upon impact and burned. The bodies of the two men were found in the remains. The exact cause of death has not yet been determined by the coroner’s office.

Contaminated fuel was not suspected, Floersch said. The fuel the pilot had purchased in San Rafael had been tested prior to the crash, he added.

“It’s all too common to stall and fall when the engine quits right after takeoff,” Floersch wrote. “There’s some rumor that the pilot may have tried to accomplish the ‘impossible’ turn”’ and return to the airport, instead of attempting to land in a field or open space in the same direction of travel. Under those conditions, the pilot has to quickly drop the nose to conserve enough energy to land, but it is a difficult maneuver, he said.

“It’s called The Impossible turn for a reason,” wrote another pilot on the forum, Jeff Walkup. “You can push the nose down to increase airspeed, until you run out of down. This was apparently engine failure immediately after takeoff. Low altitude, low air speed, zero power, not a lot of options.”

A graduate of Dartmouth and the Duke University School of Law, Eshelman had a long history of working for the national nonprofit Big Brothers and Big Sisters. His LinkedIn profile said he served as director of the Bay Area chapter from 2017 to 2019 and director of the North Bay chapter from 2010 to 2017.

Petaluma Voice was unable to reach family members for additional information on the victims and any funeral services.

“Sad loss today. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those involved in this tragic accident,” wrote Floersch.

Tobias Young is an editor and reporter at Petaluma Voice. He can be reached at tyoung@petalumavoice.org.