Divers Bring Plane to Surface
LOS ANGELES — Divers recovered a plane Sunday that crashed about a half mile from the Port of Los Angeles and prepared to turn it over to federal officials for investigation.
The crash, which killed the plane's elderly pilot, occurred around 10 a.m. Saturday between the Los Angeles Lighthouse and Cabrillo Beach. Divers found the body of 74-year-old William Zesiger, of Palos Verdes Estates, on Saturday after reaching the craft in 52 feet of water.
Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Savage said the single-engine, two-seat plane appeared to be experimental or home-built. He said it had significant damage, and that the wings were not intact.
Officials marked the site of the wreckage with buoys Saturday night, but waited until morning to raise the plane because of darkness.
Long Beach and Los Angeles County divers used air bags to bring it to the surface, the loaded it onto a flatbed truck to take it to a Coast Guard facility. The plane will be turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration, Savage said.
Fishermen who saw the crash Saturday said the plane was flying westbound and did not plunge into the water at a steep angle but instead hit the ocean almost as if it was trying to land, Savage said. He said dispatchers did not receive a distress call from the plane.
The cause of the crash was not known.