Experimental pilot and his new fiancee among 4 killed when his kit-built electrical plane crashes

Four people were killed when an electric plane built from a kit crashed in 
California — including the experimental pilot and his new fiancée, 
according to reports.

Pilot Lochie Ferrier was flying a Cozy Mark IV, a single-engine, four-
seater plane, when it crashed around 7 p.m. Sunday near Moss Beach off the 
coast of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, KTVU reported.

A 911 caller reported seeing it crashing toward the water after first 
hearing “the engine sputter,” said Sgt. Philip Hallworth of the San Mateo 
County Sheriff’s Office.

The Australian-born pilot died with his fiancée, venture capitalist 
Cassidy Petit, their friend Emma Willmer-Shiles and a fourth person who 
has yet to be identified.

Ferrier, who graduated from MIT in 2019 with a degree in aerospace 
engineering, worked at Magpie Aviation, which specializes in electric 
aircraft, and was the owner of the doomed plane, according to the outlet.

His LinkedIn also listed him as working for Beta Technologies, a Vermont-
based electronic aerospace company.

“Interested in electric airplanes. Design, build, fly!” his one-line 
profile read.

Ferrier was well known in the so-called “experimental aircraft” community, 
and was described as a “smart, capable pilot,” CBS News Bay Area reported.

Experts insisted that such aircraft should not be dismissed as unsafe just 
because they’re built from kits.

“It’s a proven design,” retired airline captain Ross Sagun told CBS News 
Bay Area, saying it is also “well tested.”

“Having said that, it’s up to the person building the airplane to properly 
construct it and maintain good engineering and building practices,” he 
told the outlet. “That’s hard to guarantee.”

Scott Miller, a pilot and San Jose State University lecturer, told KTVU 
that “kit planes are flown every day of the week.”

“Sometimes tracking the history of these types of airplanes [is] a little 
more difficult,” he said, because most do not “have any flight data or 
cockpit voice recorders.”

Ferirer was recently engaged to Petit, of Hayward, who worked for San 
Francisco venture capital firm RH Capital.

They and the unidentified fourth person are presumed dead even though 
their bodies have yet to be found, the reports said.

The body of Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco, was recovered Monday 
morning near the crash site, NBC Bay Area reported. The MIT grad was 
identified by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, the National 
Transportation Safety Board said.

NTSB said a preliminary report into this crash will be completed in two to 
three weeks.

However, a probable cause report will take between one and two years. 

The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved in the investigation. 

https://nypost.com/2024/01/17/news/4-dead-as-kit-built-plane-crashes-
including-pilot-fiancee/