Search and rescue efforts have come to a halt for a small airplane that plummeted into the Pacific near the coast of Moss Beach, CA, with authorities finding only wreckage and a deceased female thought to be linked to the Sunday evening crash. The multi-agency mission, including the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard, had fruitlessly scoured an area of roughly 28 square miles before making the tough call to suspend operations, according to a Hoodline report.
Drawing from information provided by the San Mateo County Dispatch, witnesses first reported seeing the small aircraft exhibiting erratic behavior before it went down south of Moss Beach around 7:20 p.m. on that tragic Sunday. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a Station Golden Gate boat crew were part of the search contingent, which also employed drones, as noted in reports by San Francisco’s CBS News outlet via Hoodline.
The joint efforts to find survivors, which saw first responders swiftly mobilize and technology to be leveraged, ultimately yielded only heartbreak. The day following the crash, about 30 volunteers from various units of the sheriff's office, including the Sheriffs Search and Rescue Unit and the Drone Unit, converged on the site to assist. During this phase, a commercial fishing vessel tragically spotted the body of a female adult, subsequently retrieved and sent to the San Mateo County Coroner's Office for identification, as per a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office X post.
Please take a look at the recent press release below regarding a small airplane crash near Moss Beach CA, which occurred on the evening of January 14th, 2023 pic.twitter.com/tqyPpR2KHU
— San Mateo County S.O (@SMCSheriff) January 15, 2024
Despite the unfortunate outcome, the harmonized response of the Coast Guard, CHP, local fire departments, and the sheriff's office highlighted the tenacity and dedication of all agencies involved. "We are truly grateful for the efforts of our partners assisting in search efforts," Ian McGoohan, operations unit controller at the Sector San Francisco Command Center, said in a statement obtained by the U.S. Coast Guard's news site. The precise number of people aboard the ill-starred flight remains undisclosed, and the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with further information to be released as it becomes available.
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