Santa Rosa plane bound for Hawaii involved in fatal crash off Half Moon Bay owned by Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s investment firm

The twin-engine plane that took off Saturday morning from Santa Rosa and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing its two pilots, was owned by Bayshore Global Management, a Palo Alto-based asset management company founded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

A spokesperson with Bayshore Global Management confirmed the Viking Air de Havilland DHC 6-400 Twin Otter turbo prop plane associated with the office had crashed at sea during its flight Saturday.

“We send our deepest condolences to the families of the crew on board. We are providing the families with assistance and will continue to do so as long as needed,” the company said Tuesday afternoon in a statement to The Press Democrat.

“Similarly, we are working to ensure all available resources are ready to assist in recovery efforts once weather and seas provide safer conditions.”

Bayshore Global Management is Brin’s family office, founded in 2006 to oversee and preserve his family's wealth.

Brin stepped down as president of Google’s parent company Alphabet in December 2019, but he remains a board member and controlling shareholder. His net worth was estimated at $99 billion as of Tuesday, according to Forbes.

The two pilots aboard Bayshore’s aircraft last reported the plane, which was en route to Honolulu, had about 15 minutes of fuel left before it crashed about 2 p.m. Saturday, nearly 40 nautical miles southwest of San Francisco, said Sarah Sulick, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board, which will oversee the crash investigation.

The pilots’ names have not yet been released.

The plane was on a “ferry flight” — which means no passengers or cargo were on board — and had received a special flight permit from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate, Bayshore’s statement indicated. Ferry flights are generally flown to relocate an aircraft from one location to another.

A special permit from the FAA is necessary if a plane does not meet airworthiness requirements, which are specifications set by aviation authorities to ensure an aircraft is safe for flight.

Bayshore’s plane was outfitted to carry additional fuel, according to flight records.

A Coast Guard helicopter first arrived at the scene of the crash at 2:27 p.m. Saturday. A rescue swimmer found the two pilots’ bodies still strapped in the seats of the overturned airplane, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Jillian Stuckey said.

The Coast Guard did not recover the bodies out of concern for the swimmer’s safety, she said.

Fireside Partners, a worldwide emergency response specialist, has been hired by Bayshore’s insurance company to recover the aircraft, Stuckey said.

The agency that leads the death investigation “will depend on where the recovery specialists bring the wreckage after it is recovered,” Sulick told The Press Democrat in an email Tuesday.

The plane’s recovery efforts were paused Monday due to “high seas” and are expected to resume later this week, she said.

The San Mateo County Coroner’s office was unable to confirm information regarding the crash and whether the agency would be involved in the death investigation. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was also unable to confirm whether it would be involved in any capacity.

The plane took off from Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa at 8:21 a.m. Saturday from runway 32, which points northwest, according to plane data.

About 3½ hours after takeoff, the plane reversed course and attempted to return to Half Moon Bay before it crashed into the ocean.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.