Update: Raley’s executive, chief pilot identified as men killed in Sacramento County plane crash

The chief financial officer of Raley’s Supermarkets and the company’s chief pilot were identified as the men killed Sunday when their twin-engine plane crashed in a marshy area of farmland near Galt.

The victims were identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office as Kenneth Mueller, 56, of El Dorado Hills and Richard Conte, 68, of Orangevale.

Raley’s spokeswoman Chelsea Minor confirmed both men were employed by the West Sacramento-based supermarket giant, but said the flight was not on company business.

“This is pretty devastating,” Minor said. “It’s been a hard 24 hours.”

Mueller had been with the company for 25 years, most recently as a senior vice president and chain’s chief financial officer.

“Our organization is deeply saddened and heartbroken,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, we are focused on supporting their families, friends and our colleagues.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s registry, the six-seater plane was owned by an LLC with a mailing address to Dreyer Babich Buccola and Wood LLP, a Sacramento law firm.

Conte was a pilot examiner and was Raley’s chief pilot for eight years. He also worked for Dreyer Babich.

It’s not known who was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.

Former Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness said Conte was widely respected among aviators, and that he was involved in the investigation of the July 13, 2005, crash of a sheriff’s helicopter that killed two occupants.

“He was overwhelmingly respected by the aviation community,” McGinness said. “Our air ops people knew him well and held him in high regard.

“Richard Conte, that’s the guy who, if something goes wrong with an aircraft, that’s someone you want at the helm of the plane. He’s a talented guy.”

The Beechcraft Baron 58 propeller plane went down just before 9 a.m. in an orchard about 4½ miles northwest of Galt, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Cosumnes Fire Department personnel and sheriff’s deputies arrived at the site just northwest of Christensen and Twin Cities roads to search for the plane in a marshy body of water — the area is flanked by sloughs and a laguna that feeds into the Cosumnes River several hundred yards west. Authorities waded through wetlands and swam to the plane to find two people on board.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Kionna Rowe.

The plane had taken off about 8:23 a.m. from Tracy Municipal Airport and had flown north for less than 20 minutes, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. Earlier on Sunday, the plane had flown out of McClellan Airport and made stops in San Andreas and Modesto before the final flight.

The plane and the occupants’ remains were recovered by the Sheriff’s Marine Enforcement Detail and deputies remain on scene Monday as federal investigators made their way to the site. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what caused the crash.

This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 4:42 PM.