Feds: Plane didn't break up

<p>A preliminary investigation into a plane crash that killed four members of a North Coast family last week is expected to be completed Friday.</p><p>There are no indications the 1976 Beechcraft V-tail Bonanza that crashed in Shasta County on Friday broke apart in flight, an air safety official said Wednesday, quelling speculation to that effect.</p><p>"Nothing came off the aircraft. All the major flight controls and all the major parts were found at the accident," said Tealeye Cornejo, a National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator.</p><p>Several people contacted The Press Democrat following the crash to say that Bonanzas once had problems with parts breaking off the V-shaped tails in flight.</p><p>The V-tail Bonanza was discontinued in 1982 after 35 years in production, reportedly in part because of crashes associated with the design. The flaws have since been corrected, Cornejo said.</p><p>Paul Richey, manager of the Ukiah Regional Airport, said federal regulators years ago required that the V-tailed planes be retrofitted. "The (Federal Aviation Administration) backs them and says they're safe," he said.</p><p>And Richey said the age of the plane also should not have been a problem. "They don't wear out like an automobile," he said.</p><p>The plane had undergone its annual inspection in April and the pilot, Keith Paulson, 61, was known to be competent and careful.</p><p>The crash killed Paulson, his wife, Jaynie Paulson, 58, and their son's longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Drake, all of Albion, and the Paulson's son-in-law, Vince Whiteley, 32, of Windsor.</p><p>The plane crashed as it prepared to land in Fall River Mills, where the family was traveling for a golf tournament.</p><p>A public service will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Little River Inn, south of Mendocino on Highway 1. An additional service for Vince Whiteley will be held at 3 p.m. today at the Fritz Winery in Cloverdale.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat</p><p>.com.</p>