Second victim in deadly Montgomery Field plane crash identified

City News Service
Posted

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Authorities have publicly identified the second of two men who died in a fiery Labor Day plane crash at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

Frederic Hewett, 37, was aboard a Cessna 172 that went down at the Serra Mesa general-aviation airport shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Hewett, an El Cajon resident, died at the scene of the accident along with the other occupant of the aircraft, Roger Shimizu, 45, the agency reported.

The four-seat plane appeared to stall during a landing approach, its left wing dipping down before the aircraft spun to the ground and burst into flames, according to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The crash may have occurred immediately following an aborted landing attempt, a maneuver possibly undertaken as part of a training exercise for a student pilot, officials told news crews.

The aircraft was registered to an Idaho resident who is the founder of Fly San Diego, a flight school that operates out of the city airport between Interstate 15 and state Route 163, according to FAA records and news reports.