UPDATE:
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office today identified the individual killed in the Aug. 17 plane crash off Shelter Cove as Santa Rosa resident Brian Kenneth Mariette. He was 48.
The cause of death was determined to be drowning, according to a release.
PREVIOUS:
One person died and another was critically injured after a small plane crashed into the ocean shortly after taking off from the Shelter Cove Airport on Aug. 17, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.
A press release states Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the crash site around 3:20 p.m. Sunday on a report of an aircraft entering the water approximately 100 yards offshore. Shelter Cove Fire was the first to arrive on scene with CAL FIRE and the U.S. Coast Guard also responding.
The two men on board were able exit the plane.
“Shelter Cove Fire personnel quickly deployed into the water, recovered the victims and provided emergency medical care,” the HCSO release states. “One victim was stabilized at the scene and transported by air ambulance to an out-of-area hospital with major injuries. The second victim was pronounced deceased at the scene and was released to the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office.”
A preliminary investigation indicates the aircraft took off from the airport and turned west before crashing, according to the sheriff’s office, which is currently working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the cause.
 According to the sheriff’s office, both of the men on the plane are believed to be from out of the area.
The sheriff’s office asks anyone information on the case to call (707) 445-7251.
This article appears in Global Solidarity at the Mouth of the Klamath.