Sacramento County couple ID'd in fatal Petaluma plane crash

A Sacramento County husband and wife were the two people killed in Sunday’s plane crash in Petaluma, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

Richard Bristow, 67, was piloting his Van’s RV-6 airplane with his wife, Susan Bristow, 67, in the passenger seat when the single-engine aircraft went down around 4 p.m. after taking off from the Petaluma Municipal Airport, daughter-in-law Colleen Bristow-Campbell said Tuesday. She declined to offer additional details.

Greg Varozza, a former real estate colleague of Richard Bristow, said his friend had retired from the industry, and was an experienced pilot and cancer survivor who took to flying cancer patients across the country for treatments.

The couple was married for several decades, he said, and Susan Bristow often traveled with her husband on other business trips.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Petaluma police and firefighters responded to Sunday’s crash about a thousand yards east of the airport on East Washington Street near Old Adobe Road. Multiple witnesses called 911 and raced over in attempts to render aid after seeing the plane crash.

Police said it appeared the plane was trying to return to the airport before it crashed.

The NorCal Flight Center, where Richard Bristow was involved in neighboring Placer County, posted a Facebook message Monday offering its condolences.

The post pointed to the plane losing power on takeoff as the cause.

Calls to the flight school went unanswered Tuesday.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to the family of our friend Richard Bristow and his wife,” its message read. “He was a huge contributor here at the airport, and he and his wife will be missed greatly.”

The National Transportation Safety Board hasn’t released the cause of the crash. Its investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office said.