6 Missing After Plane Plummets into Water Off San Diego Coast
Six people are missing after a small plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, Calif. on Sunday, June 8, officials said
The plane was traveling from San Diego to Phoenix
The FAA and NTSB are continuing to investigateSix people are missing after the plane they were on crashed off the California coast, officials said.
On Sunday, June 8, a Cessna 414 crashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. The plane took off from San Diego International Airport and was headed to Phoenix, Arizona, according to Flightaware.
The initial FAA report says that the plane crashed 'under unknown circumstances,' destroying the plane. There was one member of the flight crew onboard as well as five passengers.
Later that night, the United States Coast Guard said in a statement that it was searching for the downed plane with the help of a helicopter, military aircraft and boats from multiple agencies.
Additional details have not immediately been made public.
A witness told NBC affiliate KNSD that he initially thought the plane was originally doing stunts in the air. "I saw him come down at an angle. He wasn't flying straight to the ground," said Tyson Wislofsky.
"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,' he continued. 'I knew that they went in the water, nose first, at a high speed.'
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The U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are continuing to investigate the incident.
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