Two people died in a single-engine plane crash the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 7, after taking off from the Petaluma Airport.
Police received an initial call at 10:40 a.m., according to Lt. Zilverio Rivera of the Petaluma Police Department at a press conference from the scene.
The local police department initially responded, as well as firefighters from the Petaluma Fire Department who put out the airplane that was “fully engulfed in flames,” at the edge of Rooster Run Golf Course and the Petaluma Community Sports Fields within about three minutes of arrival, Zilverio said. At that point, first responders found the bodies of the two deceased individuals inside. Their names have not yet been released.
Submitted video footage from 10:38 a.m. shows the plane gaining altitude after it appears to take off from runway 29 (which faces west-northwest, toward Prince Park) before its engine quiets and it starts to fly downward, then exits the camera frame.
A soccer class for toddlers and parents was being held at the nearby Petaluma Community Sports Fields, and several participants witnessed the crash. A few people immediately ran over to help, said Tim Gutierrez of Petaluma, who was at the class with his child.
Vanessa O'Brien of Petaluma was also playing soccer with her 2-year-old when she heard a woman nearby exclaim, "Oh no, a plane just crashed!"
She looked over and saw a puff of smoke. Her dad, who was also there, said he heard a light boom – but not as loud as he might've expected from a plane crash. Then he saw a spiral of smoke go up.
Weather data from the National Weather Service at the time of the crash show that skies were clear with full visibility. Wind was blowing west at 5 knots per hour. A call to the airport’s automated weather observation service a few hours after the crash shared information on the airport's visibility and temperature, but indicated that some weather data was missing, including the temperature, dew point, and density altitude (the density of air, which impacts the plane’s performance).
This service allows pilots to understand the weather conditions at the airport so they may adjust their plane’s instruments to reflect actual conditions.
Zilverio said that police notified the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which were expected to assume investigative authority for the accident Wednesday afternoon.
Petaluma Voice editor Tobias Young contributed reporting.
Jennifer Sawhney is a reporter and co-founder of Petaluma Voice. She can be reached at jsawhney@petalumavoice.org.
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