Coast Guard search for downed aircraft off Santa Barbara coast

Coast Guard, partner agencies search for downed aircraft off Santa Barbara coast. MH-65 Dolphin and HC-130 Hercules — Archive image: two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station San Francisco and a HC130 aircraft from Air Station Sacramento sit on the tarmac outside the hangar at Air Station San Francisco.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Kevin J. Neff.

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 aircrew, the Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip and a Coast Guard Station Channel Islands 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew.

Coast Guard, partner agencies search for downed aircraft off Santa Barbara coast — Suspected debris and a sheen from a downed aircraft are shown approximately two miles west of Santa Barbara, Sept. 27, 2020. 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 responded and searched for the missing pilot.
Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

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-

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