Overview
- A small single-engine, fixed-wing plane went down near Sierra Sky Park in northwest Fresno on Saturday, Sept. 5, just before 2 p.m., when emergency crews found wreckage burning on a bluff above the San Joaquin River.
- All four people aboard the aircraft — flight instructor Danna Eady, her husband Craig Eady, and their two younger sons Pavel and Remus — have died, with Craig succumbing to injuries at a hospital on Monday.
- First responders discovered two severely injured adults outside the burning plane and two children deceased inside, firefighters extinguished the blaze, and authorities secured the scene for investigators.
- Danna Eady taught in Reedley College’s flight science program and led Meraki Aviation, prompting the college to cancel classes and the local aviation community to mobilize counseling and support while a SupportNow fundraiser has raised a significant portion of its goal.
- The NTSB is the lead agency investigating, investigators are processing wreckage and witness accounts, and officials say a final probable-cause report could take many months to a year to complete while two older children not on the flight cope with their parents’ deaths.