Solano Co. Plane Crash Victims ID'd As Concord, McKinleyville Residents

CONCORD, CA — The Solano County coroner's office Monday identified a Concord resident and an Arcata resident as the father and son who died in a plane crash Saturday near Benicia. Solano County authorities say the pilot, Terry Vallee, 67, of Arcata, and his son, Preston Vallee, 42, of Concord were fatally injured when their single-engine plane crashed Saturday in the 2200 block of Lake Herman Road north of Benicia and west of Interstate Highway 680.

According to the Civil Air Patrol, the Beechcraft Bonanza BE-36 plane departed Saturday afternoon from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord and was headed to Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville in Humboldt County. When the plane had not landed Saturday night in McKinleyville, the CAP was activated to search for the aircraft.

The plane wreckage was located by a ground team at about 4 a.m. Sunday.

The Vallees were the only ones aboard the plane, authorities say.

Solano County sheriff's deputies reportedly waited at the crash site Sunday until investigators with both the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board arrived.

Sunday night, FAA Spokesman Ian Gregor told Patch the plane went down sometime Saturday under "unknown circumstances."

• RELATED: 2 Dead In Solano Co. Plane Crash: Sheriff's Office

Monday morning, NTSB Spokesman Terry Williams told Patch an NTSB investigator was at the crash site and that the federal agency was "in the very early stages of the investigation," which involves an examination of the scene, the aircraft and its engine, as well as a review of the pilot's record.

"We are in the fact-gathering stages of this investigation," Williams said.

The plane was manufactured by Raytheon Aircraft Company and had been registered to Vallee Development Corp. of Humboldt County since April 28, 2017, NTSB records show.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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