A woman who was killed in a small plane crash near Half Moon Bay has been identified as a 27-year-old San Francisco resident.
The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as Emma Willmer-Shiles, the office confirmed to The Standard on Tuesday. Her body was found in the water Monday morning near where the single-engine plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean.
The crash was reported shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday by a 911 caller who said the plane was in obvious distress and appeared to go down toward the water near Half Moon Bay, said Sgt. Philip Hallworth with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
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The Federal Aviation Administration originally said two people were aboard the Cozy Mark IV, a four-seat light aircraft that can be built from a kit. But on Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that “reports indicate the plane was carrying the pilot and three other people.”
Willmer-Shiles, who family said went by Pearl, attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to a LinkedIn profile that appeared to belong to her. She rowed during the 2014-15 season while at MIT, according to the MIT Athletics website.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the crash.