Gaynor had previously been identified as a probable victim in the crash that killed him and pilot David Brian Casey, 63, of Friday Harbor, Wash., but a California Department of Justice DNA test recently confirmed the identity based on remains found in the water.
Local officials and others from the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are still waiting for ocean swells to subside to continue the recovery effort for the sunken aircraft, which they expect to resume next week.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com
NTSB Identification: WPR14FA096
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, January 14, 2014 in Pismo Beach, CA
Aircraft: MORRISEY 2150, registration: N5102V
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On January 14, 2014 at 1352 Pacific standard time, a Morrisey 2150, N5102V, was destroyed after it impacted the Pacific Ocean near Pismo Beach, California. The airline transport pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which had originated from the Santa Maria Public Airport, Santa Maria, California, approximately 20 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.
Witnesses said they saw a "white streak" descending towards the ocean, which was followed by a "loud boom" noise.
Radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration tracked the airplane's flight path from takeoff at Santa Maria to the accident site.
http://registry.faa.gov/N5102V
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE OCEAN, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, NEAR OCEAN DUNES, PISMO BEACH, CA
David Casey, the pilot of the plane that went down in the ocean off Oceano, is shown in this undated photo.
Local authorities have identified the second person aboard the aircraft that crashed off the coast of Oceano on Jan. 14.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has reason to believe the passenger of the Morrisey 2150 that crashed roughly a mile from the Pier Avenue ramp to be Alan George Gaynor, 52, of Los Angeles.
The Sheriff’s Office previously confirmed the identity of the pilot to be David Brian Casey, 63, of Friday Harbor, Washington.
However, authorities cannot be certain of both identities since no bodies have been discovered as of Wednesday afternoon. The search-and-recovery operation by the Sheriff’s Dive Team and Marine Enforcement Unit has been suspended since Friday because of large swells that have created a dangerous situation for divers in the roughly 70-foot-deep waters.
In a news release Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office said those conditions are expected to last through Friday, when Sheriff Ian Parkinson will re-evaluate the situation.
The Sheriff's Office is continuing to work with State Parks on a ground search for plane debris along the coastline from Grover Beach to Guadalupe.
“The Sheriff's Office is in contact with the families of both the pilot and passenger and our deepest concerns remain with them,” the release reads. “It is the Sheriff's desire to do whatever is reasonable to continue recovery efforts based on the mission's probability of success as well as the safety of the divers.”
Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com
Sheriff's officials release preliminary ID of passenger in Oceano plane crash
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office Wednesday announced it believes the second person on board the plane that crashed off the coast of Oceano last week was Alan George Gaynor, 52, of Los Angeles.
The small plane crashed into the water last Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators previously identified David Casey, 63, as one of the victims.
Search crews have so far only been able to find bits and pieces of the plane, along with some human remains.
They've been unable to search for the past few days because of rough seas.
They now plan to search the beach from Guadalupe to Grover Beach in case any debris has washed ashore.
They'll re-evaluate going back in the water at the end of the week.
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The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s dive team is contemplating abandoning the search for a missing plane that went down off the coast of Oceano last Tuesday with two people aboard.
For the past six days, the department utilized sonar and underwater cameras in the search for the wreckage and the remains of those aboard. Divers have found human remains, a wallet, and most recently a thin piece of fiberglass consistent with the makeup of the plane. A body has not been recovered, according to sheriff’s officials.
Conditions on the ocean floor have become increasingly unsafe for divers, said sheriff’s department spokesperson Tony Cipolla in a press release. On Wednesday, the department will reassess the conditions, the probability of success and dangers to divers in determining whether or not to abandon the search.
Source: https://calcoastnews.com
The man killed Tuesday when his two-seater Morrisey 2150 plunged into the ocean about a mile offshore near Pier Avenue in Oceano had a passenger and flew commercial jumbo jets for American Airlines for more than three decades.
David Brian Casey, 63, departed from the Santa Maria Public Airport, where he had a hangar, at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. About 30 minutes later, a 911 call reported an aircraft engine sputtering over the ocean and then a crash, although the caller didn’t see a plane hit the water.
Casey, a part-time resident of Friday Harbor, Wash., who also reportedly owned property in Avila Beach, had a passenger onboard the small plane. The identity of that person hasn’t been released.
“American Airlines is saddened to learn of the death of Capt. Dave Casey, who had been a pilot with American for 34 years,” Matt Miller, American Airlines media representative, said Friday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Capt. Casey’s family and the others affected by this tragedy.”
Emergency rescue personnel recovered airplane debris, a wallet and human remains near the reported crash site Tuesday, however, neither the plane, Casey or his passenger have been located since the fixed-wing aircraft went down.
The sheriff’s dive team re-entered the water Friday to search several areas that sonar equipment indicated the previous day could be plane wreckage or a body, said Sheriff’s Department spokesman Tony Cipolla.
“It could be rocks or fishing gear, or it could be parts of a plane,” Cipolla said prior to the dive team entering the water. “We won’t know until we get done there.”
Friday’s search-and-recovery efforts didn’t locate the downed plane or any bodies, and the search will continue today and Sunday, Cipolla said. Additional sonar and scanning equipment will be utilized.
After the plane is located, the Sheriff’s Department will hand the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
Casey was an avid flier, who also raced planes he built during the yearly Reno Championship Air Races, where he flew his RV-3 in 2012, while finishing work on a RV-8, according to Bob Mills, a fellow Reno racer.
“Dave was a friend,” Mills wrote in a thread about Casey that’s posted on the VansAirForce website. “Dave was a true gent ... really good guy. Gonna miss him.”
Story and Photos: http://santamariatimes.com
