A 22-year-old man killed when a small plane crashed into the delta just north of Antioch as Colin Um, of Berkeley, according to a Contra Costa County sheriff’s spokesman.
Um’s body was recovered around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The crash was reported around 5 p.m. Sunday by a boater in the area who reported the plane had splashed down. Emergency crews responding to the scene were able to find a backpack and some other debris — but the location of the aircraft was not immediately apparent.
Marine crews using sonar found it Monday morning. The victim was recovered later that evening. Investigators say Um was the only person onboard.
The plane is believed to be a Piper Cherokee that took off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord.
The crash remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed it, or has information relevant to the investigation, is asked to contact the National Transportation Safety Board by email at witness@ntsb.gov.
Prayers to the family of this young man. So heartbreaking.
sad stuff….
A Wondering: You need to be 25 to rent a car. I heard where the plane may have been a rental. Kid was only 22. Can’t find age limit to rent a plane.
Just wondering….
There is not a “legal” age to rent a plane. As long as you meet the FAA’s licensing requirements and the rental requirements from the location the plane was rented.
Ah, thanks for the info
I think the no age limit thing very curious, as it is almost impossible to rent a car if you’re under the age of 25. I once had to arrange a car rental for a person arriving at a major city for a new management job, with three days advance notice. There wasn’t a money issue. He was a 23 year old college grad with a crystal clear record, and good credit. Still no car company I’d ever heard of would rent to him, and as a Travel Agent I knew (and talked to) all of them. So I found the one and only rental car agency in town willing to do it. Though he was planing to be done with it within two weeks, he had to overnight a money order for two months of estimated rental with insurance and all taxes and fees, and the head of the department of the national chain store where he was starting the job had to draw up and overnight (that same day) a notarized letter stating he was to be their employee, and why he needed the car. It all worked out fine, but he was just very lucky I was on the job. So I do find it curious. Poor kid.
S: 17 years old to get your license, but unlike a car rental, you need to go through multi month extensive training, and a medical certification, before you can get your license to fly powered aircraft. It is not an easy or inexpensive process. Once a pilot, you need insurance and you need to be “checked out” on that plane (or same make/model, etc). Checked out means you fly with someone else who determines whether you can safely fly the plane. I am sure some of my tiny details may be off a little, but that is the overall idea. This was either pilot error or mechanical. Being in aviation myself, I am confidant the young pilot was well trained and the plane was well maintained, so it is likely multiple minor issues or decisions that turned into a major result. No matter what caused it, it is a tragedy.
and 16 for a drivers lic…. my question was not about licensing, but renting… Not as a naysayer, just wondered…
S: 17 years old… with a pilots license, insurance, and physically checked out in the airplane in the air, with an instructor. Much more difficult than renting a car. This person was likely a student or former student from a Concord flight school.
A rental plane without a parachute system??? THAT’S WEAK.