SAN PEDRO , Calif., Feb. 8 (UPI) — Searchers discovered two bodies and wreckage suspected to be from the mid-air crash of two small planes off the cast of San Pedro, Calif.
Two unidentified men, ages 61 and 81, were believed to be in one of the planes, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said. The bodies were recovered Sunday in about 100 feet of water, about two miles from the Port of Los Angeles/ The crash occurred Friday.
Passengers aboard a fishing boat alerted the Coast Guard they had observed a small plane fall into the water Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration announced two planes disappeared from its radar simultaneously, suggesting a mid-air collision.
FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer, citing local authorities, said two people were believed to be aboard one plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, and one aboard the second, a Citabria. Wreckage from one plane has been recovered thus far.
Two people, and perhaps a third, were reported missing and presumed dead, Sgt. Aura Sierra of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said earlier in the investigation.
“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.
