Editor's Note: The assets and agencies searched has been corrected from the initial press release from three CAL Fire boats to one Monterey Fire Department boat crew and one CAL Fire boat crew.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard, along with state and local agencies, has concluded the search for three people on a downed aircraft near Point Pinos, California, Sunday morning.
At 10:55 p.m. Saturday evening, watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Monterey received a relay from Monterey County detailing that a twin-engine Beechcraft, tail number N8796R, with three people on board had crashed approximately 200-300 yards off of Point Pinos.
Station Monterey launched a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew, which arrived on scene approximately 15 minutes after notification. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco also coordinated the launch of an Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter air crew for the initial aerial searches. An Air Station Ventura MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was also launched to conduct a search at first light.
At 3:01 a.m. Sunday morning, the Monterey Fire Boat 12 crew located the first person on scene, unresponsive. At 5:56 a.m. a CAL Fire drone located the Beechcraft fuselage. The Monterey Fire Boat 12 crew then worked in conjunction with a commercial dive team to locate and recover the remaining two people inside the aircraft between 6:31 a.m. and 9:08 a.m., both found unresponsive.
The Beechcraft originally took off from San Carlos airport.
Rescue crews involved in the search:
- Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin air crew
- Coast Guard Air Station Ventura MH-65 Dolphin air crew
- Coast Guard Station Monterey 29-foot RB-S crew
- Monterey Fire Boat 12 boat crew
- 1 CAL Fire boat crew
- 2 CAL Fire drones
- Commercial divers
The assets searched for a combined 13 hours, with 346 miles of trackline searched over a search area of approximately 100 square miles.
Additional agencies involved in the response include:
- Pacific Grove Police Department
- Monterey County Sheriff's Office
- San Mateo County Sheriff's Office
- Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office
- California State Parks
- Underwater Dive Company
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
-USCG-