A tragic small aircraft crash off the coast of San Diego on Sunday has claimed the lives of all six people aboard, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 took off from San Diego International Airport at approximately 12:24 p.m., en route to Phoenix, Arizona. Just minutes later, around 12:30 p.m., the plane went down about three miles west of Point Loma, crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
The FAA confirmed Monday morning that the pilot and five passengers perished in the crash. There were no survivors.
Eyewitness Tyson Wislofsky, who was surfing near Point Loma at the time, described seeing the plane descend erratically. “He wasn’t flying straight to the ground. The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water—full throttle. About six seconds later, it was dead silent,” he told NBC 7.
A chilling audio recording from LiveATC.net captured the pilot’s distress in the final moments: “Mayday, mayday, mayday.” The pilot reported difficulty maintaining heading and altitude shortly before the plane crashed.
Air traffic controllers instructed the pilot to divert to Naval Air Station North Island, but the aircraft never made it.
The U.S. Coast Guard, San Diego lifeguards, U.S. Border Patrol, Harbor Police, and Customs and Border Protection deployed aircraft and boats to conduct an extensive search. Debris was found in waters approximately 200 feet deep. The Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter remained on-site overnight, and aerial searches resumed at first light.
The aircraft bore the tail number N414BA, registered to Optimal Health Systems, a supplement company based in Pima, Arizona. However, the company stated it sold the plane in 2023 to a group of private individuals. In a statement, founder Doug Grant said, “We personally knew several of the passengers. Our sincerest condolences go out to all those affected.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have launched investigations into the cause of the crash. Weather conditions at the time were moderate, with 10-mile visibility and light winds, though a thick cloud layer hovered at around 1,500 feet.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released. The crash comes just weeks after a similar fatal Cessna crash in San Diego, heightening concerns about small aircraft safety in the region.
