The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identities of the victims in a weekend airplane crash near Pacheco Pass.
Jon R. Dennis, 69, of Gilroy was the pilot. Kiely R. Vaca, 18, of San Jose was the passenger, according to the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office.
A rancher found the crashed aircraft Sunday afternoon off Pacheco Pass near Canada Road, said Capt. Eric Taylor with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities were already searching for an airplane that took off from Frazier Lake Airpark on Saturday and did not return when due back, according to a statement from the county sheriff’s office released Sunday morning.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office initially reported there was a man from Gilroy and woman from San Jose on the plane, but families at the time asked that authorities not immediately identify the two, Taylor said.
“They’re hiking down to see if it’s the same plane or not,” said Taylor, referring to deputies with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office received a report at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday about an “overdue aircraft” at Frazier Lake Airpark in San Benito County. The plane took off around noon and had yet to return as of shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office in its initial release.
Those two people were on board the 1950 Cessna 140A aircraft, described as being white with a red nose and red stripe down the side.
“The pilot has a history of just doing some local flying,” Taylor said.
Look back for more. This story is developing.
