Plane Went Down Near Palo Alto Airport, Two Passengers Survived

A pilot on a flight for Angel Flight West was fatally injured Tuesday when the Mooney aircraft he was flying went down on approach to Palo Alto Airport. The two passengers on board the aircraft survived the accident.

Television station KGO report that the airplane is registered to a resident of Placerville, CA who is believed to be the owner, but that has not been confirmed.

The pilot has not yet been identified. The two survivors have been named as Nancy Delamaria of Redding, CA and her 16-year-old daughter Chloe King. Angel Flight West, which is based in Santa Monica, told the station that the pilot was flying one of the two passengers to Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital for treatment.

The plane went down in a duck pond near the airport. Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Geo Blackshire said in a statement that "two adult women who were on the wing of the aircraft were rescued by our personnel. And the deceased male was the pilot."

A transcript of the conversation between the pilot and Air Traffic Controllers indicates that the pilot, who was unfamiliar with the area, was having difficulty finding the airport. The pilot confirmed that he was on final and cleared to land, but then said he was going to have to abort the landing and go around.

Both survivors were taken to the Stanford Medical Center for treatment.

(Image provided by the Palo Alto Fire Department)

FMI: Source report