Coast Guard, partner agencies search for downed aircraft off Santa Barbara coast

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 09/27/2020 07:29 PM EDT

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U.S. Coast Guard 11th District PA Detachment LA/LB
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Coast Guard, partner agencies search for downed aircraft off Santa Barbara coast

Suspected debris and fuel from a downed aircraft are discovered approximately two miles west of Santa Barbara, Sept. 27, 2020.

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SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Coast Guard search-and-rescue crews and local partner agencies responded to a report of a downed aircraft west of Santa Barbara Airport Sunday morning.

At 7:10 a.m., Santa Barbara Airport personnel contacted Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center watchstanders stating they lost contact with a Cessna aircraft two miles off the coast of Santa Barbara with one person aboard.

Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Forward Operating Base Point Mugu MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, the Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip and a Coast Guard Station Channel Islands 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew.

At approximately 9 a.m., responders located a debris field and light sheening in the reported vicinity of the downed aircraft.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Dive Team is working to locate the aircraft.

The Coast Guard and partner agencies continue to search for the missing pilot.

-USCG-