Posted on 09/07/2026 11:28:14 AM PDT by Angelino97
A California woman and her two sons have died in a horrific plane crash that severely injured her husband, The Post has learned.
Danna Eady, 41, a flight instructor from Auberry, was killed along with her boys Pavel, 10, and Remus, 13, when their aircraft went down on a hilltop near Sierra Sky Park airport in Fresno on Saturday.
Her husband Craig, who was also on the plane, survived but suffered severe burns and extensive injuries, friends said. Danna is also survived by her other children Lucien, 17 and Felicity, 18...
Nick Wilcox, who owns the Soar Paso flight school in Paso Robles, described Eady as a dear friend and fellow flight instructor who had flown with him numerous times and had even taken his daughter flying.
He told The Post: “She was a very special soul.”
The family was on their way to an airshow, Wilcox said, when their plane crashed.
Wilcox said Danna was deeply involved in the Fresno-area aviation community, where she worked as a flight instructor at Reedley College and served as president of the local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter.
Her impact was evident after the crash, he said, by numerous current and former students wishing her well. “She was a very large presence in the Fresno flying community,” Wilcox said.
But beyond aviation, Wilcox remembered Danna for her adventurous and outgoing personality. He described her as “bubbly, outgoing, a free spirit” who loved being barefoot, eating ice cream, traveling and having new experiences.
Flying was Danna’s passion, Wilcox said. Although she had only become a pilot in recent years, Wilcox said she quickly accumulated thousands of flight hours and earned numerous ratings.
“Her dream was to fly,” Wilcox said. “She died doing what she absolutely loved.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
A friend of mine took flying lessons for while and said it was simultaneously the most boring and the most stressful thing he’d ever done.
murder suicide?
What’s the useful load on an AA-5? There were four adults in this plane?
My first instructor told flying is hours of total boredom, seperated by moments of shear terror
I have worked in aviation manufacturing 26 years now. Never once had the urge to learn to fly. One of my first managers said, “some guys would give their left nut to be in the position you’re in.” True.
How do you know a pilot is in the room?
He will tell you.
These guys on YouTube who do the crash debriefs have no shortage of crashes, geez. Poor family. RIP.
This is very sad and there is a mountain community that is mourning here just saw short drive up the hill from Fresno. Also very sad to see a (very few) joking posts.
You’re right, that wasn’t a good post by me.
murder suicide?
Once again, this forum is being infested by heartless dumb comments.
Just crazy. I hope nobody close to you, al baby, passes needlessly and it makes the news, and you have to deal with dumb comments.
per GROK:
For the Grumman AA-5 Traveler (the original AA-5 model), the typical useful load is about 929 pounds.
aopa.org
Key weight figures (standard configuration)Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
Typical basic empty weight: ~1,271 lb
Average useful load: ~929 lb
Average payload with full fuel (standard tanks: 37 gallons usable / ~222 lb): ~707 lb
I heard the same thing said about war.
Flying an older Gruman Tiger. Was at near gross weight with 4 on board. A family member of mine and pilot that lives at Sierra Sky Park witnessed the takeoff and crash. The Tiger rotated half way down the 2,400 foot runway and climbed to about 50 to 75 feet, but the engine can be heard to reduce rpm just passed half way down the runway. Not enough runway left to land and Sierra Sky Park runway ends with a down hill bluff going to the San Joaquin River. Plane struck trees and spun in on the downhill bluff. Rolled up into a burning mess. Sorry for the family and prayers for the two surviving older children not on the flight.
So does that imply some kind of engine failure?
Aircraft was not gaining altitude or airspeed after airborne from initial climb half way down the runway. A Ringcam video shows the plane leveling and after about 80% down the runway out of camera view you hear the engine lose rpm and about 10 seconds later the crash impact sounds. Unknown if it was throttled back, pilot attempting to switch magnetos, or partial failure but a definite loss of engine power. There is a dirt road next to a wide ponding area on the San Joaquin River. She may have been attempting to land on the road but impacted with trees on the downward slope of the river bluff.
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