Search halted for survivors on collided planes

The U.S. Coast Guard Saturday suspended the search for three people missing after an apparent mid-air collision of two small planes over the ocean near San Pedro.

Searchers found wreckage, including a pilot’s logbook.

According to officials, both aircraft were operated out of the Torrance Municipal Airport.

No survivors were found during a search which took place between 3:30 p.m. Friday and 9:15 a.m. Saturday morning.

A boater saw one of the planes crash into the water and reported it to authorities, officials said.

Two men, ages 61 and 81, were in the aircraft that was confirmed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said.

The divers searched for survivors throughout the night, but found nothing of interest except for a small log book belonging to one of the pilots that suggested the amount of people in one of the planes.

Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said there was a report of a small plane in the ocean with a small debris field near San Pedro.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department said its divers are continuing to look in the areas where debris was located.

A search is under way near Los Angeles harbor for a small plane that reportedly crashed in the ocean.

Reports indicated water in the area is about 80 feet deep. The area is popular for flight students and there were many planes in the crystal clear skies at the time of the accident.

Richard Garnett, chief flight instructor with the Long Beach Flying Club, said the pilots practice in an area that is 10 to 20 square miles and at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 feet.

That led investigators to believe at first that there had been a collision, Anderson said.

In 2001, four people died when two Cessna airplanes carrying instructors and students collided 1,000 feet above the harbor.

The two small aircraft were described as a Beech 35 Bonanza and a Citabria, according to FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.