SAN DIEGO - A search continues for the remnants of a small plane carrying six people who are presumed dead after the aircraft plunged into the ocean off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego Sunday.

The pilot reported that he was struggling to control the aircraft.

Air traffic radio transmissions indicate the Cessna 414 pilot said he was “just struggling” to maintain altitude after departing San Diego International Airport.

Over the next few minutes, the controller advised the pilot he was too low and twice told him that he could land at nearby Naval Air Station North Island.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday!” the pilot responded, according to air traffic radio transmissions recorded on LiveATC.net. It appeared to be his last transmission before the twin-engine aircraft crashed about 5 miles off the coast near Point Loma.

San Diego lifeguards found an oil sheen and some debris from the plane. Authorities flew aircraft above the site and sent several boats to look but have not reported finding any survivors, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The plane, a pressurized, twin-engine aircraft designed to carry six to eight passengers, was slated to head to Phoenix, according to FlightAware.

The incident followed another San Diego crash May 22nd in which six people perished when a private plane crashed in heavy fog in a military housing neighborhood.

Story Date: June 9, 2025