Posted on 06/09/2025 11:23:06 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A small plane crashed off the San Diego coast shortly after takeoff, killing all six people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the FAA said. The plane was returning to Phoenix one day after flying out from Arizona, according to the flight tracking website Flightaware.com.
The pilot told air traffic controllers that he was struggling to maintain his heading and climb as the plane twice turned towards shore before going back out to sea, according to audio posted by www.LiveATC.net and radar data posted by FlightAware. The controller urged the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet after he reported the plane was only about 1,000 feet in the air.
The controller directed the pilot to land at a nearby U.S. naval airport on Coronado Island, but the pilot said he was unable to see the airport. A short time later, the pilot repeatedly signaled the “Mayday” distress call before controllers lost radar contact.
A man who was out surfing when the plane crashed told NBC 7 in San Diego that he saw the plane come down at an angle, then climb back into the clouds before diving again and crashing into the water.
“The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water. But after I saw this splash, about six seconds later, it was dead silent. I knew that they went in the water, nose first, at a high speed,”
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Just seems like maybe the pilot wasn’t a pilot.
Strange!
Overloaded? Weight & balance issue? Mechanical failure?
Aviation Ping!..................
Based on KTLA, he was in the clouds intermittently. Possible spatial disorientation.
He probably was a pilot rated for visual flying who was caught in instrument conditions.
If it’s an original 414, it has a 6 person capacity. If luggage was heavy it should have caused a problem
A surfer saw him. Seems visibility wasn’t an issue.
vertigo’s a b!+ch
Maybe used parts?
Cessna 400 series aircraft are very easy to fly, just don’t get low and slow.
But why did he stay in a dive when he came back out of the clouds?
Also, even if you don’t have training or certification in IFR, you still know enough to be able to watch the attitude orientation gauge.
I suspect a flight surface failure, like an elevator or stabilizer control
If the aircraft was too heavy, (fuel, pax, luggage) getting altitude is difficult and it's easy to stall and lose stability.
And, if the weight was aft loaded (meaning the aircraft was tail heavy) the problems are magnified. The elevator can lose authority.
Whatever, any crash with injuries and loss of life is a tragety.
Marine layer conditions, essentially very low clouds.
Like heavy fog that has risen a bit.
pilot error
Oh, my. I got my info from an older article.
Thanks for the correction RB!
“why did he stay in a dive when he came back out of the clouds?”
Bottom the clouds is only a few hundred feet above the ocean.
May have been inverted if really disoriented.
There were also other issues.
Aliya pulled the old “Do you know who I am?” stunt.
According to witnesses on the ground:
He supposedly told her that the weight was too much.
700 pounds overweight!.
She threatened to call his employer and have him fired if he didn’t take off with her entourage and all their luggage and equipment, immediately!..............
Never a good day to go to California...
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