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Sonoma County Coroner confirms identity of man who died in Petaluma plane crash
Carleton Henry Morrison, 75, of Fallbrook, died in the wreck, found Friday night by deputies in a field in the 3600 block of Manor Lane, officials said.
The coroner’s office said Morrison – reported to have been an experienced pilot – was believed to have been piloting his Mooney M20 fix winged airplane from Petaluma to San Diego County during bad weather when it crashed.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening received a call from the US Air Force about an emergency transponder activation from a small passenger plane in eastern Petaluma, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum.
Deputies responded to the coordinates given on Sonoma Mountain and were unable to immediately locate the plane, Crum said.
At around the same time, Morrison’s wife had called the Petaluma Police Department and reported that her husband was overdue home, according to Crum’s report.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Friday deputies spotted a small fire in a remote ravine near the 3600 block of Manor Lane. Crum said the deputies hiked to the location of the fire and found the downed aircraft and confirmed the fatality of the pilot.
The cause of the collision is still being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the coroner’s office said.