Tragedy struck off the coast of Half Moon Bay earlier this month, where a single-engine plane nosedived into the Pacific Ocean, claiming four lives. Among the deceased, Cassidy Petit, a 26-year-old Oakland resident, was formally identified Wednesday after her body was discovered floating near Ross Cove, as KRON4 reported.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office made the grim find around 4:16 p.m., wherein the coroner's office took jurisdiction following the recovery. Petit was set to marry her fiancé, Lochie Ferrier, who piloted the ill-starred Cozy Mark IV aircraft and is also a casualty of the accident. This young couple had their wedding on the horizon, tragically cut short by the event, according to an obituary referenced by NBC Bay Area.

The first victim was recovered a day after the January 14 crash and was identified as 27-year-old Emma Willmer-Shiles from San Francisco. FlightAware data, included in the KRON4 coverage, showed the plane's movements, landing at Half Moon Bay Airport at 5:04 p.m. after departing from Hayward at 4:29 p.m., before taking off again and crashing around 7:04 p.m.

Investigations into the cause of the disaster are now underway as the local community comes to terms with the catastrophe. "What we've learned over many years of accident investigation is that an accident usually isn't just caused by one break in the links in the chain but many," retired airline captain Ross Sagun explained, as mentioned in a report by Hoodline. His insights suggest a confluence of factors may have led to the crash, which occurred amidst low visibility conditions often challenging even for experienced pilots.

The community remains in mourning as they await further developments, and the National Transportation Safety Board continues to piece together the final moments of the flight and its passengers, in hopes of preventing future tragedies of a similar nature.