Three Tesla Executives Dies in Plane Crash

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joey D
  • 7 comments
  • 1,677 views

Joey D

Premium
Messages
47,778
United States
Lakes of the North, MI
Messages
GTP_Joey
Messages
GTP Joey
Autoblog
BREAKING: Three Tesla executives die in Palo Alto plane crash
A small, twin-engined Cessna crashed this morning in an East Palo Alto neighborhood, killing all three passengers on board. According to reports, the plane was owned by Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer for Tesla Motors, and all three occupants were high-ranking officials at the electric car company. Authorities have not yet named the deceased.

"[The plane] hit a power line. Then it exploded... then half hit the next door neighbor's house and the other half hit across the street. We were right in the road," said neighborhood resident Heather Starnes. No injuries were reported on the ground, though a number of homes were damaged, including one currently being used as a daycare facility.

The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory for the Bay Area earlier in the morning that was in effect until 10 a.m. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the "decision [to take off] would have been up to the pilot." We'll update with an official comment from Tesla when we hear back.

Video Link via Autoblog
 
I'm sorry to hear the bad news. My condolences to their families too. I hope this does not affect the future of the Tesla Car Co. I have very high hopes for the future of their dreams.
 
Just sickening. I suppose we could blame pilot error, but anything could happen out there. I'm guessing that the plane was strictly a VFR type, and the instruments weren't quite enough to get him onto the runway. Or off it.

Power lines are insidious hazards for small aircraft pilots. I'm glad more people weren't injured, too, as it sounds like it crashed in a residential neighborhood. Dunno if the strip was controlled or not.
 
Incidentally, I think Elon Musk has now revealed that it's three engineers who were killed, not execs. Not that it makes it any less tragic, but Autoblog have updated their page now.
 
Its a really small company where everyone knows each other. When my friend Tony was offered a job at Tesla last year, he was personally interviewed by Musk and some of the other folks. Everyone knows everyone, so I'm sure this is going to hit them really, really hard.
 
Back