Investigators are working to determine just what happened in the moments before a small plane went down in Fresno County over the weekend. Witnesses reportedly heard an explosion of some sort and saw the plane wobble in the air before it crashed. The pilot of the plane died. Authorities say no one else appears to have been on the aircraft.

At the time this blog was written, it was still not clear who the pilot was or what the specific conditions were that led to the crash. If a person has suffered catastrophic injury or lost a loved one to wrongful death, it's these kinds of questions that can require the diligence of an experienced attorney to ensure that full compensation is obtained. Particular issues that could color the case might be the history of the plane involved, its maintenance history and the record of the company that handled that maintenance.

In the case of this accident, an added question has surfaced. The pilot apparently stole the craft. That's the claim of the plane's owner, at any rate. The speculation at this point seems to be that the man took the Cessna 172 four-seat plane for purposes of a joy ride.

While the name of the pilot hasn't been released by authorities, they do say that he had no pilot's license. Federal authorities are continuing their investigation.

According to witnesses, there was some sort explosion before the crash Sunday afternoon. Authorities say the plane took out some power lines in the area and then crashed into a canal bank just west of Barstow. Hundreds of homes were left without power as a result.

The owner of the plane, a Walnut Creek man, says the last time he saw the plane was on Friday at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord. He says it had just undergone its annual checkup. He wasn't aware it was missing until he got the call about the crash Sunday. He says he bought the used plane in 2006 and had used it as a fundraising tool for charity. He would auction off rides and then take passengers to view the Golden Gate Bridge.

Source: Fresno Bee, "Pilot in Fresno crash might have stolen plane for joy ride, was not licensed to fly," BoNhia Lee, Feb. 6, 2012