Flight crash leaves hole in the community

When the program coordinator for the Humboldt County airport in McKinleyville got a call stating an aircraft was missing she got a bad feeling, Emily Jacobs knew it was Terry Vallee's plane but she didn't know his co-pilot was his son, her friend from elementary school in Arcata. The flight crashed Sept.

Final minutes of fatal flight

Federal investigators have reported their first findings on last month's deadly medical transport plane crash about 5 miles east of the Humboldt County airport in McKinleyville. On July 29 at about 1:05 a.m., the plane “sustained an in-flight breakup and collision with tree-covered terrain,” according to a preliminary report on the crash issued by the National Transportation Safety Board .