A small plane crashed near the Petaluma Municipal Airport in California's Wine Country on the morning of October 7, bursting into flames and killing both people aboard.
According to the New York Post, the aircraft went down around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday near the Rooster Run Golf Club, adjacent to the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane was a Van's RV-7A carrying two people. The Petaluma Police Department said in a statement that responding officers found the aircraft "fully engulfed in flames" with "two deceased people inside." Witness video showed fire crews hosing down the wreckage as heavy smoke billowed from it.
The identities of the two victims have not been released. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have taken over the investigation; police said any further information about the aircraft, the victims' identities and the circumstances of the crash will come from the two federal agencies.
"Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those involved in this tragic incident," the police department added. East Washington Street between Garfield Drive and Adobe Road was temporarily closed, with motorists advised to avoid the area.
The Van's RV series is among the most popular kit-built aircraft in the United States; the RV-7A is a two-seat, single-engine model with a large following among general-aviation enthusiasts. Such "experimental" aircraft are assembled by individuals and certified to different standards than factory-built airliners — and their accident rate has long run higher than commercial aviation's.
Notably, Petaluma's airport has seen this kind of tragedy before: in May 2018, a Van's RV-6 crashed shortly after takeoff from the same airport, killing both occupants, a married couple. Witnesses at the time reported strange engine noises before the plane attempted to turn back and went down.
NTSB investigations typically take months to reach preliminary conclusions. What to watch: the RV-7A's maintenance records, the pilot's qualifications, and whether the engine showed trouble before the crash. For general aviation — a niche but unforgiving corner of the sky — every investigation report is a safety lesson written at the cost of lives.
For local residents, the airport sits cheek by jowl with the community, with planes passing overhead on every takeoff and landing — convenience and peace of mind have always been two sides of the same coin. Until the cause is established, a shadow hangs over Petaluma's runway.