HALF MOON BAY — Federal authorities on Wednesday struggled to give a clear answer to the question of how many people were on board a small plane that crashed on Sunday evening.
Initial reports Monday from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office indicated that two people were on board the Cozy MK IV plane, a four-seater, when it went down sometime after 7 p.m. The body of a woman who was believed to have been on the plane was found by a fishing crew the same day.
On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration posted a preliminary incident report online that indicated that two people had been aboard when the plane crashed: a pilot and a passenger.
However, in response to questions Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board — which has taken over the investigation, standard protocol after an air crash — said repeatedly to the Bay Area News Group that the agency had received “reports” that four people were aboard.
The NTSB issued a statement Wednesday afternoon that read: “NTSB received preliminary information (subject to change) that indicated the plane was carrying the pilot and three other people. However, please contact local authorities for any updates.” An earlier statement from the same agency said it “has no role in the release of the identities of accident victims and/or the extent and number of injuries nor does it release the identities of those injured or killed; that’s handled by local authorities.”
The FAA and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office both referred calls for clarification to the NTSB.
The woman found in the Bay on Monday was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office as 27-year-old Emma Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco.
The NTSB said the agency’s investigators arrived at the scene on Wednesday morning to document the wreckage that had washed ashore and to interview witnesses.
The flight-tracking website FlightAware shows records for a plane with a tail number matching the one cited in the FAA note that departed the Hayward Executive Airport on Sunday afternoon, then landed at the Half Moon Bay Airport about a half-hour later. The records did not show when the plane had taken off that evening from Half Moon Bay.
A plane with the same tail number is registered to Oakland-based Winged Wallabies Inc., according to the FAA registry.