Pilot Dies In Crash Of Ultra-Light Aircraft Outside Petaluma

The pilot of an ultra-light aircraft died when it crashed in a field in a rural area of Sonoma County near Petaluma Friday afternoon, a sheriff’s lieutenant said.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office received calls about the crash around 12:30 p.m., sheriff’s Lt. Greg Miller said.

Sheriff’s deputies found the wreckage and the pilot in a field southeast of Frates Road at Adobe Road. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, Miller said. The pilot was the only person in the small plane.

Bob Patterson, manager of the Petaluma Municipal Airport, said the crash site is about a mile southeast of the airport.

He said he had no information about the plane or pilot. The aircraft was initially described as a glider, but Miller said it had a cockpit and an engine.

“We don’t get many gliders here,” Patterson said.

--Bay City News

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