Feb. 07--Dive teams are continuing recovery efforts off the coast of San Pedro but so far have found no further debris linked to the suspected midair collision of two small planes Friday, officials said.
Underwater cameras and divers were in waters off the Los Angeles Harbor on Sunday in an ongoing effort to locate wreckage and remains of at least two people and possibly a third who are missing and presumed dead, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Aura Sierra.
The Coast Guard suspended an active search for survivors Saturday morning, turning the investigation and recovery efforts over to the Sheriff's Department, with assistance from Los Angele County life guard divers and Los Angeles Port police.
The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating.
Two men -- one 61 and the other 81 -- were believed to be in one of the planes reported down, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said. The men have not been identified.
The crew and passengers on a private fishing boat originally alerted the Coast Guard about 3:30 p.m. Friday that they saw a plane plunge into the water, Anderson said.
A small debris field was located near the Point Fermin Lighthouse, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said there appeared to be two aircraft on radar before the crash, both of which then disappeared, which led investigators to believe there had been a collision.
According to preliminary information, one aircraft was a Beech 35 Bonanza and the second a Citabria, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
It is presumed the planes collided under unknown circumstances, he said.
Local authorities say that two people were aboard the Beech Bonanza and one person was onboard the Citabria, Kenitzer said.
So far, wreckage from only one plane has been recovered.
"We can't confirm a midair collision until we actually recover parts from two planes, but we believe that to be the case. It's likely," Sierra said.
The plane carrying the two passengers filed a flight plan and flew out of the Torrance Airport, Coast Guard officials said.
Sheriff's divers were expected to continue recovery efforts for most of Sunday.
"Obviously, we will stay as long as we can," Sierra said.
carla.rivera@latimes.com
Twitter: @carlariveralat
