The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into a weekend airplane crash near San Jose that claimed the lives of two licensed pilots.
The single-engine Champion Citabria, tail No. N5174X, departed from Watsonville around 9:30 a.m. Saturday and was reported missing by the occupants' family members and friends that evening, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
The plane was found on Mount Hamilton early Sunday morning by search crews with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Gregor said.
The medical examiner's office today identified the victims as David Hartley, 53, and John Bergsma III, 49, both of Wilton. Josh Cawthra, investigator in charge for the NTSB, said both men were licensed pilots.
He said his team finished on-scene documentation of the wreckage Sunday afternoon, but that they are still in the initial phases of the investigation.
He did not release a preliminary cause of the crash, and said investigators will consider weather, mechanics, possible medical issues, and the history of both pilots on board.
Additionally, the wreckage will be relocated to a facility near Sacramento where investigators can reexamine it in a controlled environment, Cawthra said.
"Our number one mission is to see if there were any safety related issues with the airplane, the engine or anything that could have contributed," so that similar problems can be prevented in the future, Cawthra said.
He said Hartley and Bergsma had been traveling from Watsonville to a private landing strip in Wilton when the crash happened.
A preliminary report is expected to be complete by the end of the week, Cawthra said.

Mt. Hamilton Wreckage to be Moved to Sacto
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