Officials work to confirm identity of pilot in Oakdale crash

Stanislaus County coroner’s officials will work this week to confirm the identity the pilot who died in a plane crash Saturday morning after a hard landing at the Oakdale Airport.

A pathologist has been called in to examine the pilot’s body and to confirm the man’s identity, said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Anthony Bejaran. He said it’s likely the Sheriff’s Department will release the pilot’s name this week.

The plane that crashed was a fixed-wing, single-engine Challenger II CWS, described as an experimental plane. Federal Aviation Administration records indicate the plane was registered to a Sacramento man. Attempts by The Modesto Bee to contact that man or his family were not successful Sunday.

Witnesses have said they saw the plane heading east about 10:30 a.m. Saturday toward the airport just south of Sierra Road and east of Wren Road. The witnesses told police the plane may have had engine trouble before it landed.

The plane had been flying in the area for about 30 minutes before landing, according to the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District.

One witness said he saw the plane coming in slow before it landed near the runway’s edge. He said the plane bounced a few times, but then the pilot appeared to have regained control. Then, the witness heard the plane crash into a pickup parked near a hangar.

A fire engulfed the plane and the pickup. Attempts by witnesses to reach the pilot and extinguish the flames were unsuccessful. Firefighters arrived quickly and stopped the flames from spreading to the hangar.

This story was originally published March 12, 2017 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Officials work to confirm identity of pilot in Oakdale crash."