Small Plane Crash off San Diego Coast Leaves Six Dead
By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press
Authorities launched an investigation on Monday following a tragic incident where a small plane carrying six people crashed off the San Diego coast.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 went down at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, shortly after departing from the airport, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft was en route back to Phoenix after departing from Arizona the previous day, according to Flightaware.com.
Search teams located a debris field later that same Sunday approximately 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a neighborhood in San Diego that extends into the Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials. The search area has water depths of around 200 feet (61 meters).
In an initial statement on Sunday, the Coast Guard announced that they were searching for the six individuals on board, but did not disclose their identities.
The plane is registered to the vitamin and nutritional supplement company Optimal Health Systems, based in Pima, Arizona. The company has not yet issued a statement in response to requests for comment.
According to audio recordings from LiveATC.net and radar data from FlightAware, the pilot reported difficulties in maintaining the aircraft’s heading and altitude, with the plane making two turns towards the shore before heading back out to sea. Air traffic controllers instructed the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet when he reported flying at only 1,000 feet.
The pilot was directed to land at a nearby U.S. naval airport on Coronado Island, but he indicated that he could not locate the airport. Shortly thereafter, the pilot issued a distress call of “Mayday” before losing radar contact.
An eyewitness who was surfing at the time of the crash recounted to NBC 7 in San Diego that he observed the plane descending at an angle, then ascending into the clouds before descending again and crashing into the water.
“The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water. But after I saw this splash, about six seconds later, it was dead silent. I knew that they went in the water, nose first, at a high speed,” shared Tyson Wislofsky.
This tragic incident comes in the wake of another small Cessna plane crash in San Diego, where foggy weather was a contributing factor, claiming the lives of six individuals.
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