A small single-engine plane carrying two people crashed in a field on the east side of Petaluma on Wednesday morning, just after leaving Petaluma Municipal Airport. As of early Wednesday afternoon, officials had not said how the two people on board were doing.
What we know
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane took off from the airport at about 10:45 a.m. and went down shortly afterward. It landed in a field next to Rooster Run Golf Club, which sits across the road from the airport. FAA spokesperson Steve Kulm identified the aircraft as a Van's RV-7A, Bay City News reported.
The RV-7A is a popular kit airplane that owners assemble themselves. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that the FAA's registry classifies these planes as experimental, amateur-built aircraft, a category that covers many homebuilt designs flown by private pilots.
Aerial video shot by KTVU's news helicopter showed the plane broken apart in the field, with a wide patch of scorched ground around the wreckage, and investigators walking the edge of a taped-off scene. The Petaluma Fire Department told the Chronicle its crews were sent out after a report that a plane had crashed and caught fire. A witness told ABC7 the plane seemed to be circling before it went down.
Road closure
Petaluma police closed East Washington Street between Garfield Drive and Adobe Road while crews worked the scene. Drivers heading between central Petaluma and the east side of town should check for updates before going through that stretch.
What happens next
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The cause has not been determined, and the people aboard have not been publicly identified. The NTSB typically releases a preliminary report within a few weeks of a crash, with a full probable-cause finding taking much longer.
This story is based on early reports and will be updated as officials release more information.