A San Diego pilot flying a plane that crashed in Santa Barbara County in August did not have the proper documentation to fly and was facing a fourth revocation of his pilot’s license at the time of the crash, according to a review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents.
David K. Martz, 58, of San Diego, and passenger Greg Bacino, 56, of San Diego, died Aug. 6 when the Cessna Martz was flying crashed in a remote area of the county following reported engine failure.
Martz was flying Bacino to Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport from San Luis Obispo when officials received the mayday call. The plane was on a mountainside 30 to 40 miles north of Ojai in Santa Barbara County.
But at the time of the crash, Martz did not have the medical clearances required to fly and was facing a fourth revocation of his license, records show.
Martz was under investigation prior to the crash over allegations that he had falsified his FAA medical certificate after two drunken driving convictions in 2013 and 2014 in San Diego, where he lived.
He had previously lost his license three times, the most recent of which happened when adult film actress Puma Swede leaned across the collective pitch control and performed oral sex on him while he flew over San Diego in 2009. The following year, he successfully passed the helicopter pilot’s license test and was fully licensed, he told NBC7 at the time.
The first time he lost his commercial pilot’s license, Martz had been flying in 1986 without valid registration and had a false medical certificate, documents showed. He lost his license again in 2004 when he flew a plane with a suspended license and, additionally, flew within 50 feet vertically and horizontally of a person or property.
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Bacino, the second victim in the crash, was the owner of a healthcare company called Mutual Alliance.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the incident.
