Small plane carrying six people crashes off San Diego coast
Authorities were investigating Monday after a small plane carrying six people crashed off the San Diego coast.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, not long after it took off, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane was returning to Phoenix one day after flying out from Arizona, according to the flight tracking website Flightaware.com.
Searchers found a debris field later Sunday about 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a San Diego neighborhood that juts into the Pacific, U.S. Coast Guard officials. The water in the search area is about 200 feet (61 meters) deep.
The Coast Guard said in its initial news release Sunday that it was searching for the six people on board, whom it didn't identify.
The plane is owned by vitamin and nutritional supplement maker Optimal Health Systems. The company, which is based in Pima, Arizona, didn't immediately respond to a Monday request for comment.
The pilot told air traffic controllers that he was struggling to maintain his heading and climb as the plane twice turned towards shore before going back out to sea, according to audio posted by www.LiveATC.net and radar data posted by FlightAware. The controller urged the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet after he reported the plane was only about 1,000 feet in the air.
The controller directed the pilot to land at a nearby U.S. naval airport on Coronado Island, but the pilot said he was unable to see the airport. A short time later, the pilot repeatedly signaled the 'Mayday' distress call before controllers lost radar contact.
A man who was out surfing when the plane crashed told NBC 7 in San Diego that he saw the plane come down at an angle, then climb back into the clouds before diving 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,' Tyson Wislofsky said.
The crash comes weeks after a small Cessna crashed into a San Diego neighborhood in foggy weather and killed six people.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Six killed in small plane crash off California coast
A small plane crashed off the San Diego coast shortly after takeoff, killing all six people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. The twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the FAA said. The plane was returning to Phoenix one day after flying out from Arizona, according to the flight tracking website The Coast Guard said searchers found a debris field later Sunday about 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a San Diego neighborhood that juts into the Pacific, U.S. Coast Guard officials. The water in the search area is about 200 feet (61 meters) deep.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Search continues off Point Loma for six passengers on downed Cessna
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The multi-agency search is continuing Monday for six people who were on board a Cessna 414 aircraft that went down off the coast of Point Loma over the weekend. The plane crash was reported just before 12:45 p.m. on Sunday. According to U.S. Coast Guard officials, the aircraft fell into the Pacific Ocean about three miles west of Point Loma. The National Transportation Safety Board was called to investigate what caused the plane to go down into the water. Meanwhile, Coast Guard search and rescue assets, including those from partner agencies such as the U.S. Border Patrol and San Diego lifeguards, were deployed to scour the area for the aircraft and any survivors. Protestors gather near Camp Pendleton over Trump's deployment of National Guard in LA According to the flight tracker, FlightAware, the Cessna appears to have been bound for Phoenix, Arizona, departing from San Diego International Airport just 15 minutes before it went down in the Pacific Ocean. An audio recording of what appears to be the conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers, which was archived on the live air traffic website indicates the aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 1,000 feet prior to its descent into the ocean. The air traffic controller can be heard directing the pilot to bring the aircraft up to 4,000 feet, but the pilot responds, saying he is 'struggling' to maintain altitude. The controller then suggests the pilot land at Naval Air Station North Island, but shortly after, the pilot sends out a mayday call. At this time, it is unknown who was on board, including its pilot. NTSB officials have not yet released any additional information regarding their investigation into the crash. Federal Aviation Administration records indicated the more than 50-year-old aircraft is registered to an Arizona-based nutritional supplement company, Optimal Health Systems. In a statement, Optimal Health Systems founder Doug Grant said the plane had been sold to a group of private individuals back in 2023 and had been in escrow up until recently. Federal records had not yet been updated to reflect the change in ownership. However, Grant added he 'personally knew several of the passengers onboard' and offered condolences to those affected by the tragedy. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones,' he said. 'Again, we extend our sympathies to the victims and their families during this difficult time.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
6 people killed in crash of small aircraft off San Diego, FAA says
Air travel safety Airplane crashes Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow Six people were killed when a small plane crashed into the ocean off San Diego on Sunday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. The final moments before the twin-engine Cessna crash – which triggered a major search of the Pacific Ocean near San Diego – are captured in an air traffic control audio recording from 'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' the pilot of the Cessna 414 can be heard shouting on the recording only five minutes after taking off from San Diego International Airport. The pilot and five passengers were killed when the plane crashed into the water 'under unknown circumstances,' the FAA told CNN. The Coast Guard is searching a debris field. An urgent exchange is heard on the audiotape as the pilot tells an air traffic controller he is struggling to maintain a heading. 'What seems to be the issue?' the air traffic controller can be heard asking 'Just struggling right now to maintain heading … and climb,' the pilot replied. The controller from the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control advised the pilot to land at nearby Naval Air Station North Island. Flight tracking data shows the plane taking off at 12:25 p.m. local time bound for Phoenix. In the five minutes that followed, the plane reached a maximum altitude of only 2,100 feet before making two turns to the left, according to open-source data from ADS-B Exchange. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. Weather conditions at the time of the crash were not particularly poor. Visibility was 10 miles and winds were at about 8 mph from the west-northwest, with no gusts. There was a thick, overcast cloud layer at around 1500 feet, according to data from nearby airports analyzed by CNN meteorologists. This is a developing story and will be updated.
