After planning a stay of several weeks in California, they had arrived in Hollywood around the 11th of February, 1938.
They had rented the mansion of former screen comedian William Haines.
As guests of publicist William Randolph Hearst, Lord Plunket, his wife and their travelling companion, James Lawrence, a son of Sir Walter Lawrence of London, boarded a plane owned by Hearst's San Francisco and Los Angeles newspapers.
They were bound for the Hearst ranch at San Simeon, now known as Hearst Castle.
In the coastal fog surrounding the airstrip on the ranch, the pilot overshot the field by nearly a mile and a half.
One wing struck the ground, causing the plane to burst into flames and crash.
James Lawrence was the only survivor, having been thrown clear of the plane.
He suffered burns and a broken ankle.After the Plunkets' deaths, their sons were raised by Lord Plunket's sister, The Hon.
Helen Rhodes, and her husband, Arthur Tahu Rhodes.
Lord and Lady Plunket had three sons:
Patrick Terence William Span Plunket, 7th Baron Plunket: b.
8 Sep 1923, d.
1975
Captain Robin Rathmore Plunket, 8th Baron Plunket: b.