OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — FAA officials say they cannot confirm who was the pilot in a North County plane crash this week.
Initial police reports said 58-year-old Raymond Allen Petty Jr., of Yorba Linda, was the pilot of the small aircraft that crashed into an Oceanside hillside late Monday. Tom Bussey, Public Information Officer with Oceanside Police Department, said that was the information provided to him at the crash site, and it was possible to fly the plane from either seat.
The Orange County man was sitting in the right seat of the plane, the FAA said.
Another man who survived was pulled from the wreckage hours later when the crash site was discovered on Tuesday. The man, who has yet to be identified, was a commercially licensed pilot with certification to fly in inclement weather, according to the FAA.
Petty Jr. did not have medical clearance or the proper certification to fly in inclement weather, according to the FAA.
RELATED:
- Orange County man identified in deadly Oceanside plane crash
- Pilot killed, passenger hurt in Oceanside-are plane crash
San Diego’s Medical Examiner (ME) said Wednesday Petty Jr. died after the plane took off from Oceanside Municipal Airport Monday and crashed into a hillside off State Route 76 near Canyon Drive.
A woman on her way to work Tuesday spotted the wreckage and alerted police. Heavy fog in the area blanketed the crash site and prevented it from being spotted until hours later, according to the ME.
FAA and NTSB officials were investigating the cause of the crash Thursday.
The wreckage from the crash was removed Thursday morning.
