A routine weekend family trip ended in tragedy Saturday afternoon on a dirt bluff near the San Joaquin River. A single-engine plane carrying four family members crashed shortly before 2:00 p.m., just past the runway at Sierra Sky Park Airport in northwest Fresno.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene off North Blythe Avenue after receiving reports of heavy smoke and fire. Responders found the small aircraft engulfed in flames on a high ridge. Firefighters quickly knocked down a small brush fire caused by the crash before it could spread to nearby homes.
Two young boys, 13-year-old Remus Eady and 10-year-old Pavel Eady, died at the scene inside the wreckage. Their mother, 41-year-old Danna Eady of Auberry, was pulled from the plane in critical condition. Paramedics rushed her to Community Regional Medical Center, where she later passed away from her injuries.
Danna was an experienced pilot who knew the local skies well. She worked as a flight instructor in the Flight Science Department at Reedley College and served as president of the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 376. Colleagues in the Central Valley aviation community described her as a skilled airman with thousands of flight hours.
Her husband, Craig Eady, was the only person to survive the crash. Responders found him outside the aircraft with severe third-degree burns and extensive injuries. He remains in critical condition in the hospital, facing months of surgeries and rehabilitation.
The couple’s two older children, 18-year-old Felicity and 17-year-old Lucien, were not on the plane. They are now facing the sudden loss of their mother and two younger brothers while watching their father fight for his life in intensive care. Friends have set up a local fundraiser to help cover the family’s growing medical bills and daily expenses.
Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have taken over the crash site. NTSB officials said it could take up to a year to determine what caused the plane to go down so close to the airfield.
Classes at Reedley College were canceled on Tuesday as students and staff gathered to mourn. Friends and fellow pilots have left flowers near the airfield boundary to honor the mother and two boys whose lives ended on the river embankment.
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