A California father-of-four, Craig Eady, 44, has died in hospital three days after a plane crash that killed his wife and two young sons near Fresno. The recreational aircraft, piloted by his wife Danna, 41, crashed shortly after take-off from Sierra Sky Park Airport on Saturday, leaving the couple's two eldest children, Felicity, 18, and Lucien, 17, orphaned and grieving the loss of four of their six-strong family in a single incident.

The single-engine, four-seater plane came down on a bluff above the San Joaquin River, about 12 miles north of Fresno, shortly before 2pm. Danna Eady died in hospital that night, while sons Pavel, 10, and Remus, 13, were pronounced dead at the scene; Craig succumbed to critical burns on Monday. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, having recovered electronic devices from the wreckage, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days. Danna, a flight instructor at Reedley College, was remembered by colleagues as adventurous and dedicated, and an online fundraiser for the family has so far raised $65,000 of a $250,000 target.