A 28-year-old man was killed Thursday morning after taking off
from the Hollister Municipal Airport and crashing west of Highway
25, according to authorities.
A 28-year-old man was killed Thursday morning after taking off from the Hollister Municipal Airport and crashing west of Highway 25, according to authorities.
The crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m., according to sheriff’s and Calfire authorities. There was one person in the single-engine aircraft headed for Australia with a planned stop in Hawaii, according to Calfire. The man was dead when firefighters arrived at the scene and there was no fire.
The site of the crash was about two miles west of Highway 25 at Shore Road, said Sgt. Rick Uribe with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, which acts as the local coroner.
The victim has been identified as 28-year-old Benjamin Glattstein, Uribe said. An Australian publication, the J-Wire, noted how he had been flying back to Sydney for a close friend’s wedding.
A passerby witnessed the plane as it crashed nose first into the ground, according to authorities. Uribe said the witness reported he or she had thought the plane was doing acrobatic maneuvering before crashing.
Glattstein had been flying a single-engine Mooney aircraft, Uribe said.
Aside from Calfire, others responding included the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and American Medical Response. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
