Three people were killed – and their bodies have been recovered – after a small airplane crashed in the ocean off the central California coast, authorities and local media said.
Emergency crews responded late on Saturday after reports of a plane down about 300 yards (275 meters) off Point Pinos in Monterey county, the US Coast Guard said in a statement on Sunday.
The coast guard later told California’s KSBW news station that it recovered the bodies of three local residents who had been on the downed plane. They were identified as Steve Clatterbuck, 60, of Salinas; James Vincent, 36, of Monterey; and Jamie Tabscott, 44, of Monterey.
Witnesses reported hearing an aircraft engine revving and a splash in the water, KSBW reported. People on shore reported seeing debris wash up from the crashed plane.
Clatterbuck, Vincent and Tabscott were all on the twin-engine Beech 95-B55 Baron when it took off from the San Carlos airport at 10.11pm local time and was last seen at 10.37pm near Monterey, according to flight tracking data from FlightAware.com.
Coast guard boat and helicopter crews were launched to search for the crash victims, with assistance from local law enforcement and fire agencies.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
