Friday, 13 June 2025

Multiple Fatalities After Small Plane Crashes Into Ocean Near San Diego

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Six people died after a small plane crashed Sunday into the ocean near San Diego.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed shortly after takeoff.

Per NBC San Diego:

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 Coast Guard said searchers found a debris field later Sunday about 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a San Diego neighborhood that juts into the Pacific, U.S. Coast Guard officials. The water in the search area is about 200 feet (61 meters) deep.

According to his sister, the pilot’s name was Landon Baldwin, a resident of Safford, Arizona. Baldwin’s wife, Torrie, was among the five passengers, the sister said.

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The couple were the parents of two small children. According to published reports, a male passenger was also on the aircraft with his three children.

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot reportedly was heard saying on an air traffic control audio recording minutes after takeoff.

CNN reports:

An urgent exchange is heard on the audiotape as the pilot tells an air traffic controller he is struggling to maintain a heading.

“What seems to be the issue?” the air traffic controller can be heard asking

“Just struggling right now to maintain heading … and climb,” the pilot replied. The controller from the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control advised the pilot to land at nearby Naval Air Station North Island.

Flight tracking data shows the plane taking off at 12:25 p.m. local time bound for Phoenix. In the five minutes that followed, the plane reached a maximum altitude of only 2,100 feet before making two turns to the left, according to open-source data from ADS-B Exchange.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.


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