The search for survivors from a downed Cessna plane that crashed into the ocean Sunday was suspended Tuesday morning after personnel used aircraft and boats to scour 300 square miles of ocean.
“They are still unaccounted for,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said of the six victims presumed to have died.
The search began Sunday afternoon after the twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed several miles off the coast of Sunset Cliffs. The pilot had reported he was “just struggling” to maintain altitude shortly after taking off from San Diego International Airport as he talked with an air traffic controller. The flight was bound for Phoenix.
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According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft plunged into the ocean around 12:30 p.m. Nearby boats reported seeing a large splash, and San Diego lifeguards rushed to the area, where they found an oil sheen and debris from the plane.
The FAA reported the crash as being about 5 miles off the coast. The Coast Guard said its personnel at the Joint Harbor Operations Center in San Diego received the initial report at 12:45 p.m. It also pinpointed the crash site about 3 miles west of Point Loma.
Because the area where the crash occurred was in deep water — thought to be 200 feet or more — Coast Guard crew members took the lead in the search effort, eventually working along with other partners to search more than 35 combined hours.
“The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one,” Lt. Cmdr. Justin Brooks, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector San Diego, said in a statement. “We appreciate the work of our partners throughout the search efforts, and our hearts are with the loved ones of those involved in the crash.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
Records indicated the plane was owned by a nutritional supplement company based in Pima, Ariz., but a spokesperson for Optimal Health Systems said it sold the plane in 2023 to “a group of private individuals.”
The names of those on the plane have not been released by officials. The supplement company spokesperson said the victims were members of their small community in eastern Arizona.
The final minutes of the pilot’s communication with an air traffic controller indicated the plane was falling below safe levels, and the pilot was trying to make adjustments.
According to the conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controller, the plane was at about 1,000 feet when the controller advised the pilot to “climb and maintain 4,000 feet immediately.” The controller also suggested the pilot try to land at the closest airport, which was Naval Air Station North Island.
The pilot’s last transmission recorded on LiveATC.net: “Mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday!”
