Two planes crash in mid-air, plunge into ocean off Los Angeles

A preliminary report at 3:14 p.m. indicated a small plane was in the ocean with a small debris field near San Pedro, Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Two small planes collided over the ocean just outside Los Angeles Harbor and plunged into the water Friday, prompting a massive search by dozens of boats and divers. As darkness fell there was no sign of survivors.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that two aircraft were believed to have been involved in a mid-air collision although only one plane was confirmed to have crashed.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration later confirmed there was a mid-air collision involving two aircraft, county fire officials said.

“We don’t want to give up until we really feel that there’s no chance”, Williams said, “that we haven’t scanned the area, searched the whole area and looked for survivors”.

The Coast Guard, which ordered the Angels Gate entrance to Los Angeles Harbor closed to all vessels, was “coordinating a surface level search effort” and a safety zone was established around the search area, an official said.

Both planes had taken off from the nearby Torrance Airport, and both pilots were experienced, Williams said.

The search for wreckage and possible survivors is expected to continue through the night and into Saturday.

It is not known how many people were on board and what their fate is.

Lifeguard boats and rescue divers immediately sprung into action.

Los Angeles County lifeguard Captain Ken Haskett says divers have found a plane tail number and a partial number from a second plane in the water.