Pilot Remembered as Lifelong Adventurer

David Motley was an adventurer all his life, up to the moment of his death Saturday in a plane the Santa Ana resident had helped build.

“He loved to fly, and he died doing what he loved best,” said Agnes Motley, 73, his wife of 50 years.

Three years ago, the couple took the experimental blue-and-white two-seater RV-6A, which they helped build with a specialist in Chino, across the country, from Chino Airport to Albany, N.Y. She felt safe in the plane, which had been built just the year before, because David was extremely careful.

On Saturday morning, David Motley, 71, flew out of Chino Airport, headed to meet his son, Jim Motley, 41, who was camping in the desert near Baker with friends.

As Motley was nearing the airport, he made radio contact with his son. But as Motley neared his landing about 1:30 p.m., his son saw the aircraft flip in the air and plunge into the sand five miles south of Interstate 15, authorities said.

Jim Motley said a gust of wind may have affected the single-engine plane. The crash is under investigation. The wreckage was contained in an area 50 yards square and will be recovered this week, said Howard Plagens, air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Remembered as a devout Roman Catholic with a kind heart and a penchant for adventure, David Malcolm Motley III was in constant motion, his family said.

He spent his free time skiing, sailing, running, hiking and driving go-carts. “His favorite hero was John Wayne,” Jim Motley said.

Another son, Mark, 43, was supposed to join his father on the fateful flight to the desert, but changed his mind.

“I had second thoughts that it would be better if I stayed here,” Mark Motley said. “But I got to see him that day because I saw him off. I shook his hands, told him I loved him and to be careful.”

Motley, a retired engineer, had worked for Rockwell, Boeing Corp. and the former Hycom Inc., specializing in modems and microwave links.

Jim Motley said his father was very playful and would often toss a football with the local children, who frequently asked if “Mr. Motley could come out and play.”