All six occupants of a twin-engine Cessna 414 were confirmed dead after the aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on Sunday.
The plane departed San Diego International Airport around 12:25 p.m. local time, en route to Phoenix, Arizona. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported difficulties maintaining altitude and heading. Air traffic control advised ascending to 4,000 feet and attempting an emergency landing at a nearby naval airfield. The pilot issued multiple “Mayday” calls before the aircraft disappeared from radar.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane emerge from clouds and dive nose-first into the ocean approximately three miles west of Point Loma. The crash site lies in waters about 200 feet deep.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search covering over 300 square miles for more than 35 hours but suspended operations on Tuesday morning after finding no survivors.
Among the victims were pilot Landon Baldwin and his wife Torrie, both in their 20s from Pima, Arizona, leaving behind two young children. Also on board were a father and his three adult sons, also from Arizona.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash. A preliminary report is expected in about a month.
