Watsonville, CA– Federal investigators have released new information about a plane crash that killed a Santa Cruz family of four earlier this month.
Forty-five-year-old David Houghton, his wife, 44-year-old Dorothy, and their sons, were on their way to visit David’s siblings at a cabin near Groveland when their single-engine plane crashed into a medical-office building in Watsonville.
According to the Associated Press, The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report says that the Houghton’s plane took off at a steep angle, rolled until it was nearly upside down and then nose-dived.
Two witnesses reported that the plane rolled rapidly to the left shortly after taking off at a steep angle from Watsonville Municipal Airport around 7:20 p.m. It nearly inverted and then nose-dived, completing two turns before disappearing behind trees.
The plane hit a parking lot and then slid into an unoccupied building at Watsonville Community Hospital. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Written by tina.falco@mlode.com
This post was last modified on 07/22/2011 4:13 pm
Watsonville, CA– Federal investigators have released new information about a plane crash that killed a Santa Cruz family of four earlier this month.
Forty-five-year-old David Houghton, his wife, 44-year-old Dorothy, and their sons, were on their way to visit David’s siblings at a cabin near Groveland when their single-engine plane crashed into a medical-office building in Watsonville.
According to the Associated Press, The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report says that the Houghton’s plane took off at a steep angle, rolled until it was nearly upside down and then nose-dived.
Two witnesses reported that the plane rolled rapidly to the left shortly after taking off at a steep angle from Watsonville Municipal Airport around 7:20 p.m. It nearly inverted and then nose-dived, completing two turns before disappearing behind trees.
The plane hit a parking lot and then slid into an unoccupied building at Watsonville Community Hospital. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Written by tina.falco@mlode.com