Authorities on Monday suspended the search for possible survivors after a small private plane crashed into the water near Half Moon Bay around 7 p.m. Sunday. The remains of the boat were found face down in the water and authorities are still trying to determine what happened.
The plane took off from an airport in the East Bay, according to Sgt. Philip Hallworth, spokesman for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. No information has been released on how many people were on board, but Hallworth said Monday afternoon that the possibility of any survivors was unlikely given the time that had elapsed. The plane crashed near Moss Beach, about two miles north of Half Moon Bay Airport.
A large portion of the plane washed up on the beach at Ross Cove, Hallworth said, but as of Monday afternoon it was inaccessible due to high tides.
Along with the sheriff's office, the Coastside Fire Protection District, the California Highway Patrol and the United States Coast Guard are involved in the investigation.
Witness reports described a plane flying erratically before disappearing from sight, according to the sheriff's office.
“We were having dinner on the patio and we heard the engine noise, like you hear in the movies, when a plane is about to crash,” Melissa Richter, who was visiting the area from Maine, told ABC 7 News. “It was definitely spinning back and forth, and then it seemed like he hit the gas, went a little faster, then went down and the engine died.”
