San Diego Has 2nd Fatal Plane Crash Within Weeks; 6 Killed
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
SAN DIEGO, USA (Worthy News) – The U.S. city of San Diego struggled Tuesday with the aftermath of a second fatal plane disaster in the area within weeks as a small aircraft crashed off the coast in the Pacific shortly after takeoff, killing all six people on board, officials said.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 came down at around 12:30 p.m. local time Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) explained.
The plane took off from San Diego International Airport at 12:24 p.m. local time en route to Phoenix and crashed minutes later, around 12:30 p.m., according to the FAA and flight tracking website FlightAware.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that searchers found a debris field later Sunday about 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a San Diego neighborhood that juts into the Pacific. The water in the search area is reportedly about 200 feet (61 meters) deep.
Despite a massive search and recovery operation involving ships and helicopter crews by multiple agencies, officials said no survivors have been found so far.
Additionally, questions remained about why the plane crashed. In moments leading up to the tragedy, air traffic control could be heard telling the pilot to gain altitude quickly. However, the pilot struggled to do so, according to recordings captured by flight traffic monitoring website LiveATC.net. The captain was heard shouting, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” seconds before impact.
Resident Tyson Wislofsky witnessed the crash while surfing near Point Loma on Sunday afternoon.
COMING DOWN
“I saw him come down at an angle. He wasn’t flying straight to the ground,” Wislofsky told local broadcaster NBC4 News. “The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water. Full throttle.”
The FAA said the plane is owned by Optimal Health Systems, a vitamin and nutritional supplement maker based in Pima, Arizona.
However, company founder Doug Grant said that his firm sold the aircraft and transferred ownership to private individuals in 2023.
“We personally knew several of the passengers on board, and our sincerest condolences are offered to those affected by the tragedy, all of whom are incredible members of our small community,” Grant stressed in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones.”
Information on the identities of those killed was not immediately made public.
The crash comes two and a half weeks after a Cessna 550 plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in San Diego, killing all six on board and burning several homes, injuring several residents.
At least 10 homes were damaged in the May 22 crash, which also mangled dozens of vehicles and forced almost 100 people to evacuate, witnesses and authorities said.
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