According to reports, three mid-level engineers for Tesla Motors have died in a fiery plane crash over Palo Alto, CA, this morning. Although names have not officially been released yet, witnesses say that the plane was owned by Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer for Tesla. Apparently the plane crashed right in to a residential neighborhood on top of a daycare facility. No other injuries have been reported, although some houses have been damaged.
Daniel Morales, who said he was at the airport when the plane took off, identified the pilot and two other occupants as employees of Tesla and said he has previously flown with Mr. Bourn. Mr. Morales’ relationship to the Tesla employees was not immediately known. According to KPTV, neighborhood resident Heather Starnes said the crash happened while she was leaving her home to take her daughter to school.
“We heard something and it blew up in the air,” Starned told KTVU. “There was this big explosion. Part of it hit my neighbor’s house who has a daycare and part of it hit my neighbor’s other house. They are burning. It 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.”
The Bay Area was surrounded in a blanket of fog when the crash occurred and The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory for the Bay Area earlier that was in effect until 10 AM. The decision would have been up to the pilot to fly in inclement weather.
We’ll keep you updated as the story develops.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM U.S. Pacific Time, 2/18/2010–Many sources around the web are now reporting that no high-ranking Tesla execs were on board the plane, but that they were three “mid-level” engineers. The title and content of the post have been changed to reflect that.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM U.S. Pacific Time, 2/18/2010–Officials have released the names of the 3 Tesla employees killed in the plane crash: The owner and pilot of the plane, senior electrical engineer Doug Bourn, electrical engineer Andrew Ingram and senior manager of interactive electronics, Brian Finn.
Source: KTVU
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