A person whose body was recovered Monday from the area of a plane wreck off the coast of Half Moon Bay on Sunday has been identified by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office as Emma Pearl Willmer-Shiles, a 27-year-old San Francisco resident.
Preliminary information released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board indicated there were four people on board the single-engine Cozy Mark IV aircraft, including a pilot and three passengers. An earlier report from the Federal Aviation Administration had erroneously indicated there were two people on board.
As of Tuesday, no other bodies had been found.
Willmer-Shiles was found deceased in the ocean by a commercial fishing boat on Monday morning, shortly after a search by the U.S. Coast Guard and San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office was called off.
The search covered 28 square miles over nearly six hours before the decision was made to suspend the search-and-rescue operation, which was launched after the aircraft was reported flying erratically just after it took off from Half Moon Bay Airport at about 7 p.m.
A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew and a Station Golden Gate boat crew assisted in the search.
“It’s never easy to make the decision to suspend search efforts, and our deepest sympathies go out to the families involved in this incident,” said Ian McGoohan, a Coast Guard spokesperson.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew and personnel from the San Mateo Police and San Mateo Fire departments also assisted in the search efforts.
Wreckage of the plane was found on Moss Beach Sunday night.
The Cozy Mark IV is a home-assembled aircraft sold in parts, according to the manufacturer’s website. On its Frequently Asked Questions page, it advertises the plane as easy to assemble.
“No special skills or previous experience are required,” it says. “Builders come from all walks of life. The plans are written for the average person and first-time builder.”
A team from the NTSB arrived at the crash scene on Tuesday to continue its investigation by documenting the wreckage that came ashore and interviewing witnesses, according to NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick.
Anyone with information, pictures or video related to the crash can report it to the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
The FAA and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the crash.