Petaluma, United States: Two people were killed when a Van’s RV-7A experimental homebuilt aircraft crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Petaluma Municipal Airport in California on October 7, 2026. The aircraft came down in a field beside Rooster Run Golf Club, near East Washington Street and across from the airport, at about 10:40–10:45 a.m. local time. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash, and the cause remains undetermined.
The aircraft was a Van’s RV-7A, a two-seat, single-engine kit-built aircraft designed for amateur construction. Flight-tracking and aircraft-registration information identifies the aircraft as N425DG, a 2007-built RV-7A with serial number 71782. Registration records identify Rodney Eshelman of Marin County as the registered owner. The aircraft is registered as an individual-owned, experimental/amateur-built, fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft. It was not operating as an airline flight and there is no evidence of a commercial operating company being involved.
The aircraft had two people on board, and both were killed. Petaluma police said the identities of the occupants had not initially been released, and the latest reports reviewed for this article still do not provide an official identification of either victim. Accordingly, their names, ages and relationship cannot be reliably reported at this stage.
The aircraft crashed in a field adjacent to the Rooster Run Golf Club, with aerial footage showing extensive wreckage, a heavily scorched area around the aircraft and investigators working around the site. Yellow police tape surrounded the crash area. KTVU reported that the wreckage was visible from the air and that the Petaluma Municipal Airport was nearby.
Petaluma Police Lt. Zilverio Rivera said first responders found the aircraft fully engulfed in flames. He said, “The fire was put out approximately three minutes after arrival from our fire department from the city, and after the fire was extinguished we noticed the two fatalities in the plane.”
Police closed East Washington Street between Garfield Drive and Adobe Road during the emergency response and investigation. Petaluma police subsequently asked members of the public to stay away from the immediate area so emergency crews and investigators could work safely. Police said, “Because the FAA and NTSB will be leading the investigation, any additional information regarding the aircraft, circumstances surrounding the crash, identities of those involved, or cause of the crash will be released through their channels as information becomes available.”
Witnesses at Rooster Run Golf Club described the aircraft apparently experiencing trouble shortly before the crash. Pilot Goran Jelenic told ABC7, “I heard a sputtering.” He said the aircraft appeared to be attempting to return toward the runway and “looked like he was trying to turn back the runway and turn really hard.”
Another witness, golfer Andrew Sabin, said he saw the aircraft low to the ground and apparently in distress. “I saw the plane careening almost sideways. It was almost 100 feet off the ground,” he said. Sabin said he heard the engine before seeing the aircraft descend, followed by an impact and fire.
Rooster Run marshal Bob Kates said the aircraft appeared to circle near the golf course before turning back. “It came around and came up and circled around by the pro shop and turned around and headed back south again,” Kates said. “It hit the grass here.”
Airport manager Dash Phillips said the circumstances remained unclear immediately after the crash. “We had an aircraft take off out of our airport, and for some reason they crashed off field,” he said. “We don’t know what exactly happened yet.”
At this stage, authorities have not established whether the aircraft suffered an engine failure, mechanical problem, loss of control or another form of emergency. Witness descriptions of sputtering and an apparent turn toward the airport are not official findings and should not be treated as the cause of the crash.
The NTSB’s investigation is expected to determine the aircraft’s flight path, mechanical condition, engine performance, pilot actions, weather conditions and other factors before establishing a probable cause. No official cause has been released as of October 8, 2026. The identities of the two people killed also remain officially unreleased.
