Small plane crashes west of Point Reyes

Air Force and Coast Guard planes tracking an aircraft with an incapacitated pilot saw it plummet into the Pacific Ocean 460 miles west of the coastline.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Air Force and Coast Guard planes tracked a small, experimental aircraft controlled by an apparently incapacitated pilot for three hours before watching it plummet into the Pacific Ocean.

The Coast Guard said Friday that it was still searching for the pilot and Lancair plane about 460 miles west of Point Reyes, California.

Nobody else was aboard the plane, which took off from Palmdale, California. The pilot's name was not released.

The Coast Guard was alerted at 7:40 p.m. Thursday that the pilot was not responding to ground control queries and the plane was heading out to sea.

The Air Force and Coast Guard sent two F-16 jets and two other planes to contact the plane. The military planes tracked the Lancair for three hours and the pilot observed to be slumped over the controls before crashing.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor