N49931: Aircraft on short final collided with N740WJ.
Date: 18-AUG-22
Time: 21:58:00Z
Regis#: N49931
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 152
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 1
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: WATSONVILLE
State: CALIFORNIA
Nannette Zoe Plett-Kruppa, 67
~
Winton, California - Carl J. Kruppa, 75, passed away unexpectedly on August 18, 2022, with his dear wife Nannette Plett-Kruppa and their beloved dog Ebony.
Carl was blessed with a large and loving family. He and his wife Nan adventured together through life beginning in 2008. They loved visiting and spending time with their combined 8 children and 16 grandchildren. Carl was a loving Husband, Father, and Papa that meant the world to his family. He always made them a priority.
Carl was involved with the Future Farmers of America, 4H, Flying Samaritans, and the Westside Trapshooting League. Carl was an adventurous soul who worked hard and had the ambition to put in the extra time and effort to excel. He was passionate about helping others and always had time to answer a question or solve a problem. He gave his time and love generously, and provided encouragement and fatherly advice. He will be missed dearly by his beloved family and friends.
Carl passed with his wife Nannette. He was preceded in death by his parents Chester and Eudora Kruppa, and wife Ilene Kruppa. He is survived by his children, Stephanie Valsted (Paul), Christiana Laughlin (Dana), Elijah Kruppa, and Jedidiah Kruppa (Jessica); and his grandchildren, Arin Valsted, Brenna Valsted, Arik Valsted, Jaden Laughlin, Jax Laughlin, and Emerson Carl Kruppa.
A memorial service will be held at Crossroads Church in Turlock on Saturday, August 27th, 2022, at 2:00 pm. Memorials may be made in Carl's honor to the Atwater Future Farmers of America, PO Box 835, Atwater, CA 95301.

Stuart Camenson
WATSONVILLE, California (KION-TV)- Two planes collided at the Watsonville Municipal Airport Thursday, leaving three people and a dog dead.
Stuart Camenson, 32, was piloting a Cessna 152 while practicing touch-downs and takeoffs on the runway at the airport, according to his family. " He had already successfully completed four that day and was about to complete his 5th when he was hit by the other plane," said his parents, Steve and Lori Camenson.
Known as "Possum Stu" by friends, he received his pilot's license in June of 2020. He had begun his pilot training in 2017, loved flying, and would do it often, said his family.
Stuart will forever hold a very dear place in our hearts. We feel his loss tremendously and will never stop loving, remembering, and feeling his presence. Stuart’s goofy spirit and fun nature brought so much joy into our lives and the lives of everyone he met. Stuart’s zest for life led him down countless paths where he explored passions and talents, improving himself and enriching the lives of those around him every day. He approached everything and everyone with wholehearted love and thoughtfulness. He was a once in a lifetime son, brother, and friend. His loss will be deeply felt by an immense community of people who loved him and were loved by him. -Camenson Family
Stuart graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2016 with bachelor's degrees in chemistry, mathematics, and earth science. During his senior year at UCSC, he began working in the IT department at the college.
The University of California Santa Cruz confirmed with KION that Camenson was employed by the university. He is listed as an Information Technology Specialist in the university directory.
We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and mourn the loss of Stuart Camenson, Carl Kruppa and Nannette Plett-Kruppa. Stuart graduated from UC Santa Cruz with degrees in chemistry and Earth sciences and went on to work in our Division of Information Technology as an information systems analyst. Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time. -UC Santa Cruz
Stuart was a "renaissance man" that could do it all. He held all sorts of interests and whether it was "flying, printmaking, jewelry making, painting, singing, dancing, acting, playing many instruments (guitar, banjo, saxophone, clarinet, piano, mandolin), dj-ing, yoga, meditation, surfing, scuba diving, beer making, cooking and baking, reading, traveling, hiking/camping," he wanted to learn and do it all, said his family.
"Stuart was extremely passionate, in his relationships and his interests. He loved people dearly, and anyone he met reciprocated the feeling," said the Camenson family. "People were drawn to his goofy spirit and fun nature. He was kind to everyone and would gladly help anyone in need. He was a lifelong learner and never stopped gaining new interests and trying new things.
Stuart leaves behind his parents, Steve Camenson and Lori Camenson, sisters, Sarah Camenson and Jenna Camenson, and countless friends that "shared a family love."
A Bay Area family was mourning the death of their 32-year-old son, an energetic and avid flyer who died in a midair plane collision at Watsonville Municipal Airport in Santa Cruz County.
Stuart Camenson was practicing takeoffs and landings on the runway at the airport on August 18, the day of the crash. He had been working on getting additional flight experience and certificates, his parents, Lori and Steve Camenson, said.
The Santa Cruz resident was about to complete his fifth round in a Cessna 152 just moments before he was hit by another small plane making its final approach into the airport as well, a Cessna 340A.
Both occupants in the second plane, Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, died at the scene. Kruppa appeared to be the co-owner of Custom Farm Services in Winton, a fourth-generation family owned management operation in Merced County. The family farm specializes in almonds, sweet potatoes, corn silage, forage crops, and black-eyed beans, according to its website.
Family members of the couple were not immediately available for an interview, but an associate director of the sustainable agricultural research and education program at UC Davis said that Kruppa “certainly was a pioneer trying new and unusual practices to improve conditions in his almond orchards.”
Spokespersons for the Merced County Farm Bureau said they were saddened by the tragic incident, and expressed their thoughts and prayers for their family.
Camenson, described by his family as a “renaissance man who could do it all,” was a passionate pilot who loved flying and would often take day trips over Santa Cruz, particularly to see the sunset.
Born in Alamo on August 9, 1990, Camenson attended San Ramon Valley High School and graduated in 2009. He then moved to Santa Cruz, where he earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz in chemistry, mathematics, and Earth science, his family said.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and mourn the loss of Stuart Camenson, Carl Kruppa and Nannette Plett-Kruppa,” said Scott Hernandez-Jason, a communications spokesperson for the university. “Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.”
Camenson had developed an early interest in planes that was layered in to his overall demeanor toward life, his family said. He loved learning — and as he grew older, the list of his interests only seemed to grow, from jewelry making to painting to singing to scuba diving and playing instruments.
He played the guitar, banjo, saxophone, clarinet, piano, mandolin and DJd too, his family said.
“People were drawn to his goofy spirit and fun nature,” his family said. “Stuart was extremely passionate, in his relationships and his interests. He loved people dearly.”
In addition to his parents, Lori and Steve Camenson of Alamo, he is survived by his sisters, Sarah Camenson and Jenna Camenson.





WATSONVILLE, California - The coroner on Monday released the identities of the three people killed after two small planes collided while trying to land in Watsonville.
According to Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner Jim Hart, the victims killed in Thursday's crash were 75-year-old Carl Kruppa of Winton, 67-year-old Nannette Plett-Kruppa of Winton, and 32-year-old Stuart Camenson of Santa Cruz. A dog also died in the crash.
There were two people and a dog aboard a Cessna 340A and only a pilot aboard a Cessna 152 during the crash at Watsonville Municipal Airport, National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator Fabian Salazar said.
"We have what appears to be one aircraft operating in a traffic pattern and one aircraft coming into the airport to land," Salazar said.
The Cessna 152 was registered to Monterey Bay Aviation Inc., according to FAA records. The aircraft was listed for rent by the hour on the website of United Flight Services, a company based at the airport that provides flight instruction and aircraft rentals and maintenance.
NTSB investigators arrive on scene Friday after a deadly mid-air plane collision at the Watsonville airport, where at least two people died.
The Cessna 340A was registered to ALM Holding LLC., a company based in Winton.
Salazar said investigators were still collecting evidence and will talk to witnesses. A preliminary report on the fatal collision from the NTSB is expected in two weeks, he said.
The city-owned airport does not have a control tower to direct aircraft landing and taking off.
Salazar said pilots that use airports with no control towers have a common traffic advisory frequency they use to communicate.
"We are working to get the radio communications that were occurring on that day," he said.


