Pilot Killed In Oakland Plane Crash Was Flying Club Leader
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP) -- The pilot of a World War II-era plane that went down near Oakland International Airport was identified Monday as the leader of the Golden Gate Navioneers, a local flying club.
The Alameda County coroner's bureau confirmed the identity of the pilot killed as 73-year-old Richard Manuel of Redwood City.
Manuel was flying a 1947 Navion A when he called in an emergency to air traffic control shortly after takeoff from one of the airport's north-field runways about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The single-engine plane then crashed nose-down in mud on the shore of San Leandro Bay in the city of Alameda, and Manuel was found dead inside a short time later by paramedics.
No one knows why the plane crashed; the cause was under investigation and Federal Aviation Administration records showed no previous record of problems with Manuel's plane.
"We're just really sorry for what happened here," airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said. "It's a very somber mood."
Chet Robbins, a friend and fellow pilot, said that Manuel was president of the Navioneers who would organize member "fly-ins" every month.
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