Three Pacific Union real estate agents were among the five victims of a fatal twin-engine plane crash that nosedived into an upscale Santa Ana, Calif., shopping center on Sunday. All five victims were on board the aircraft.
Courtesy of Pacific Union
REALTORS® Lara Shepherd, 42, Floria Hakimi, 62, and Nasim Ghanadan, 29, were identified as among the victims on the plane.
REALTORS® Lara Shepherd, 42, Floria Hakimi, 62, and Nasim Ghanadan, 29, were identified as among the victims on the plane. (Hakimi also was the mother of another victim on the plane, Navid Hakimi, 32, and Shepherd was the wife of Scott Shepherd, 53, the pilot, who also died in the crash.)
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of this tragedy,” Pacific Union said in a statement following news of the plane crash. “Our entire Pacific Union family is mourning the loss of our colleagues, family, and friends. We have suffered a tragic loss in Danville.”
Pilot Scott Shepherd, a real estate developer in the Bay Area, was flying a Cessna 414 on Sunday when he declared an emergency. Investigators say he never specified the nature of the emergency, and the plane crashed into the parking lot of a Staples office supply store shortly thereafter. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash. The plane struck four cars on the ground. No one on the ground was hurt. All five passengers inside the plane were killed.
The plane took off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, Calif. The plane crashed about a mile from its destination, John Wayne Airport.
Floria Hakimi had posted a photo on her Instagram account prior to taking off on the flight. She smiled on the steps of the plane with the tagline: “Flying out to LA.” The real estate professionals were reportedly traveling to a real estate workshop in Anaheim, Calif.
The plane is registered to Category III, a San Francisco–based real estate consulting firm. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.
