A pilot and three passengers were aboard the small plane that crashed into the ocean Sunday off Half Moon Bay, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Tuesday, but so far they have recovered only one body.
No one has been identified on the plane, which crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff. Updated information from authorities Tuesday indicates there were four people on board, after authorities initially reported there were two on the plane.
The body of a woman, believed to be one of the crash victims, was found Monday morning by a commercial fishing boat near the crash site, authorities said. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office said the woman's identity would be released by the end of the day Tuesday.
Early Monday, the Coast Guard suspended its nearly six-hour search of a 28-square-mile area for victims of the crash. Sergeant. Philip Hallworth, a spokesman for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, said the chance of finding survivors was unlikely.
The wreckage of the plane was found face down in the water and a large portion of the plane washed ashore at Ross Cove, authorities said. An updated incident notice from the Federal Aviation Administration described the aircraft as destroyed.
The Cozy Mark IV plane, a single-engine, four-seat aircraft, crashed shortly after takeoff from Half Moon Bay Airport around 7 p.m. Sunday, said Sarah Taylor Sulick, an NTSB spokeswoman. She said NTSB investigators arrived at the scene Tuesday morning, but added that the safety board has no role in identifying the victims or commenting on the extent of the injuries.
Sulick said the agency's investigation would focus on the cause of the crash, analyzing flight tracking data, air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records, weather issues, the pilot's license and background, and any available video or witness statements.
Witnesses first reported seeing the plane flying erratically before disappearing from sight, prompting the search and investigation Sunday night, authorities said.
Sulick asked that any witnesses with information or video of the crash email the NTSB at [email protected].
