Authorities on Thursday called off a more than 24-hour search for three people on a plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast.
No people were recovered in the search and the people on board have not been identified.
The initial report of a downed Phoenix Learjet came just before 8 a.m. local time Wednesday from the Fleet Area Surveillance and Control Center on San Clemente Island, the Coast Guard said in a statement. statement. The island is owned by the US Navy and is located about 80 miles west of San Diego.
The facility reported «an aircraft emergency» on board the plane, noting that the aircraft did not return to the runway.
A US Navy Phoenix Learjet was in the area and immediately began searching the debris field.
The debris field was located about a mile southwest of the island, and search efforts were underway Wednesday, the US Coast Guard Southern California said. tweeted.
Levi Reed, a spokesman for the US Coast Guard, said the search was called off around 9 a.m. Thursday. The search covered 334 square miles and involved multiple agencies, including the Coast Guard, the US Navy, the Air Force, and US Customs and Border Protection.
The jet was a civilian aircraft that was contracted by the US Navy with civilian personnel on board, Reed said.
It took off from Point Mugu, part of the Naval Base in Ventura County, but it’s unclear where it was headed, he said.
The cause of the accident is unclear. He National Transportation Safety Board He said he was investigating.