Federal officials are continuing to investigate the cause of a small plane crash near Gilroy earlier this month that claimed the life of both occupants—including a 69-year-old Gilroy man and his 18-year-old granddaughter.
Pilot Jon Dennis and Kiely Vaca, of San Jose, were killed when their Cessna 140—headed to Watsonville from Frazier Lake Airport in Hollister—crashed around 3 p.m. A rancher found the wreckage off Pacheco Pass near Canada Road, according to Capt. Eric Taylor with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
In a preliminary report released Tuesday, federal investigators said the aircraft struck power lines—which knocked out power to nearby residents.
NTSB officials said in the report the aircraft remained mostly intact, but there were grooves on the aircraft from suspected contact with a wire from one of the plane’s wings and propeller. The propeller fell off after the crash, authorities said.
“One of (the propeller’s) blades had multiple S-type bending and a small portion of that blade’s tip was missing,” the report reads. “Overhead distribution power lines located a few hundred feet from the main wreckage were found separated near their mid-spans.
NTSB investigators recovered the wreckage from the scene and moved it to a secure location for the further investigation.
