New information released in deadly Marina plane crash

KION has discovered the identity of the pilot who died in last month’s fatal plane crash in Marina, and a preliminary report has been released by the NTSB.

FAA records show the aircraft was registered to 85-year-old Gordon Holley of Palm Springs. A recent obituary reported Holley passed away unexpectedly on March 26th, the same day as the crash.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, who would officially identify the pilot, told KION last month they were awaiting DNA results.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the crash.

The aircraft, a Mooney M20E, was based at Watsonville Municipal Airport.

A witness there said he noticed the pilot’s ability to walk had deteriorated since he last saw him several months prior, but the pilot was in good spirits.

The pilot later took off toward Marina.

Witnesses at the Marina airport reported they later saw the plane take off, and made an unusually steep climb in an unusually high nose-up angle then began to twist to the left.

Surveillance video from the airport shows the plane then nose-dived into the ground. And that’s when it caught fire.

The fire destroyed the cockpit and the cabin and the wings and fuselage were damaged.

According to the NTSB, the pilot owned the plane since 1990 and had more than 2,600 hours of flying experience.