San Francisco Bay Plane Crash; Rescuers Still Looking For Missing Pilot

Rescue teams are searching the San Francisco Bay to find a pilot who has been missing since Sunday afternoon following a plane crash. The crash happened after one plane collided with another and crashed in to water.

The incident was reported near the San Pablo Bay on Sunday afternoon. One of the aircraft involved in the incident managed to fly for another 40 minutes before landing safely. The other, however, crashed in to the water with its pilot still inside. According to witnesses at Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor, the Cessna spiraled out of control after the collision and crashed.

Rescue workers and emergency teams were immediately alerted about the plane crash, reports USA Today. The rescue team, along with Coast Guard officials, searched the water for the pilot of the crashed 1965 Cessna 210. However, until now, they have only managed to come across some debris believed to be from the plane crash. The other plane was a single-engine Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20 with two people in it – a husband wife duo who escaped uninjured. The first people to reach the site of the plane crash were sailboats and the captain of the East Brother Light Station boat. They called 911, which emergency and rescue services were alerted.

The search for the missing pilot continued with four Coast Guard boats and a helicopter being pressed in to service. Two boats from other local law enforcement agencies were called in as well. Divers from the San Francisco Police Department were also on the scene. The search continued well after dark and resumed today morning without any clue of the pilot involved in the plane crash.

According to SFGate, before the plane crash happened, the two planes had taken off from Eagle’s Nest Airport and were flying together and had participated in the Pacific Coast Dream Machines event. In the event, the plane that escaped was showcased as a vintage war bird. It is owned by Sanders Aircraft Inc.

Meanwhile the organizers of the Pacific Coast Dream Machines have put up a statement that reads thus: “Everyone associated with the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show is terribly saddened by this news and we hope and pray the missing plane and survivors are found.”

As rescue operations continue, the ray of hope of the pilot surviving the plane crash have gradually started diminishing.

[Image via Bing]