Report details moments before planes crashed midair, killing two Merced County residents
A new report details the moments before two planes collided midair over the Watsonville Municipal Airport, killing two people from Merced County and a Santa Cruz resident.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report of the crash details witness statements and recorded radio communications between the two planes, a Cessna 152 and Cessna 340, prior to the collision.
Winton residents Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, were killed in the Aug. 18 crash along with 32-year-old Stuart Camenson of Santa Cruz. The report doesn’t specify who was piloting each plane.
Before the accident occurred, the Cessna 152 pilot stated he saw the Cessna 340 and that it was behind him. The Cessna 152 pilot added that he was going to go around, “because you are coming up on me pretty quick,” the report says.
Multiple witnesses reported hearing the two pilots communicating over the recorded common traffic advisory frequency. Others heard and observed the two airplanes collide. The Watsonville airport does not have a control tower.
One witness stated he was flying overhead of the Watsonville airport when he heard the two pilots communicating over the radio. According to the report, the witness watched the Cessna 340 “on the Cessna 152’s tail” before it banked to the right and its left wing struck the Cessna 152.
Another witness took a photo from her office that shows the two airplanes approaching the airport.
The wreckage from the crash was recovered and secured in a storage facility for further examination.
The NTSB’s findings are preliminary and subject to change before the final report is completed.
