HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — The pilot of a small plane that crashed into the waters off the coast of Half Moon Bay last week — killing four San Francisco Bay Area residents – has been identified along with his fiancee by family members who say the couple was set to marry in Hawaii next week.
Cassidy Rae Petit, 26, a Biddeford, Maine, native, lived in Oakland with 27-year-old Lochie Ferrier after they relocated from Vermont in the last year, Petit’s family said in a statement released to this news organization.
They also confirmed that Ferrier, who is described as an experienced test pilot on his LinkedIn page and who recently worked at a Bay Area aviation firm, was on board the single-engine, four-seater Cozy MK IV plane that went into the ocean Jan. 14.
In the last week, authorities and family members identified another Bay Area couple killed in the crash: Isaac Zimmern and his longtime partner Emma Willmer-Shiles, who were both 27 and living in San Francisco. Willmer-Shiles is the only victim whose body has been recovered, after a commercial fishing crew found her the day after the crash.
The Petit family’s statement identifying Ferrier aligns with an account the plane’s previous owner gave last week. Thane Ostroth told the Associated Press that he sold the home-built kit aircraft last year to “a young, experienced and enthusiastic pilot from Australia.” Records show Ferrier hailed from Australia.
Ferrier’s LinkedIn page, which has been “memorialized” by the social network in light of his death, states that he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked extensively with testing electric planes. He also was a test pilot as recently as last fall with Magpie Aviation based in Hayward, which is where the ill-fated flight originally departed before taking off again from Half Moon Bay.
Petit’s family described her as a native of Biddeford, who is survived by her brother, Curtis, and her parents, Kim and Peter Petit. She graduated from high school in Biddeford in 2015 and attended the University of Vermont in Burlington, where she studied psychology and neuroscience.
“It was at UVM that her adventurous, free-spirited and curious personality allowed her to develop into the creative and brave leader that she was,” her family said. “She interned at the local nonprofit Lund, supporting and advocating for women and families experiencing poverty, substance use and abuse. This ignited her passion for women’s health and equity.”
Signs of a crash first surfaced at 7:13 p.m. Jan. 14, when a witness called authorities to report a small propeller plane flying erratically near Half Moon Bay Airport and Moss Beach Distillery, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The caller reportedly heard the engine sputter out before it fell out of sight.
Searches by the Coast Guard and the sheriff’s office ensued, but they were suspended the next day. Some pieces of the wreckage washed ashore, authorities said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, and typically releases a preliminary crash report within 30 days.
The plane was registered to Oakland-based Winged Wallabies Inc., according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry. The flight-tracking website FlightAware indicates the plane took off from Hayward Executive Airport on Sunday afternoon, then landed at the Half Moon Bay Airport about a half-hour later.
Petit’s family described her as an avid outdoor adventurer, and said that while in Vermont, she turned a job at a local surf shop into a founding role with a business incubator called Hula and a corresponding venture capital fund the Fund at Hula. She also co-founded the agricultural startup Burlington Bio.
She met Ferrier while living in Burlington, where he was working on electric aircraft with Beta Technologies, a firm he recently re-joined in the past couple of months. Along with their dog, Kane, they moved to the Bay Area in February 2023, where Petit took on a job as an analyst with RH Capital, focusing on investments to improve “innovation, access and equity across reproductive and maternal health.”
The couple got engaged Sept. 27 while kayaking in Mexico, and they were set to marry in Kauai on Jan. 28.
“In true Cassidy fashion, she planned to surf in her wedding gown following the ceremony; a testament to her fiery spirit and love for once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” the Petit family said.
On what would have been their wedding day, the couple will be memorialized by family and friends in the Burlington area, first at Hula, and then at Beta Technologies.
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