3 victims identified in crash involving two planes at Watsonville airport
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office identified three people Monday who were killed when two planes collided Thursday over Watsonville Municipal Airport, east of Santa Cruz.
The collision was reported around 3 p.m. as two planes appeared to be approaching the airport for a landing.
All three people involved in the crash, two pilots and a passenger, were killed. They were identified as Carl Kruppa, 75, of Winton, Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, of Winton and Stuart Camenson, 32, of Santa Cruz, the sheriff-coroner said in a release.
Plane crashes, close calls and pollution prompt residents in Pacoima to call for the closure of Whiteman Airport. Aviation enthusiasts say the airport is critical for training new pilots.
“Our deepest condolences are with the families of those involved,” the agency said.
Officials did not state which of the victims were pilots and who was the passenger.
The planes were identified last week by the Federal Aviation Administration as a single-engine Cessna 152 and a twin-engine Cessna 340. The single-engine plane was carrying only a pilot at the time of the collision, while the twin-engine plane carried a pilot and passenger.
Photos from the city of Watsonville showed the wreckage of one plane in a badly damaged hangar, and footage from KCBS-TV Channel 2 showed another plane in a field.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
An ultralight airplane crashed upside down into hangars at the Camarillo airport Thursday. The pilot was stable after being airlifted to a trauma center.
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