LOS ANGELES — A home-built aircraft crashed into the ocean off of the California coast, leaving four people presumed dead. The single-engine Cozy Mark IV plane had been meticulously constructed over nearly a decade, reflecting a high-flying hobby that continues to grow in popularity across the country.
The plane, part of the tens of thousands of amateur-built aircraft in the US, went down just south of San Francisco with no survivors found and only one body recovered from the waters near Half Moon Bay as of Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration records revealed that the plane was registered to an Oakland-based company called Winged Wallabies, Inc.
Thane Ostroth, the retired dentist who had spent nearly a decade building and flying the aircraft, sold the plane to a young, experienced pilot from Australia. The pilot, in his late 20s, was described as knowledgeable and enthusiastic about planes, successfully landing the plane on his first test flight, impressing Ostroth and ultimately leading to the sale.
The crash was devastating for Ostroth, who learned about the tragic incident through an online chat group for pilots and builders of Cozy aircraft. Despite the traumatic experience, aeronautical engineer Marc Zeitlin emphasized that home-built planes undergo the same annual inspections for airworthiness as commercial aircraft and have a similar safety record.
More than 33,000 amateur-built aircraft are licensed by the FAA, indicating a significant increase in the hobby’s popularity since the 1980s. As part of this trend, the Cozy Mark IV, a four-seat aircraft known for its speed and fuel efficiency, has become a favorite among aviation hobbyists who enjoy building their own planes.
The crash prompted search and rescue efforts, with a helicopter and boat crew searching a 28-square mile area for nearly six hours before calling off the search. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation and expects to release a preliminary report within 30 days.