One Rescued, Two Remain Missing

Rescue crews continued to scan the waters north of San Diego, CA in a search for two people still missing after a Cessna 172S went down off the coast of Oceanside, CA Sunday afternoon. One passenger was rescued with serious injuries approximately 30 minutes after the aircraft impacted the water, but there were no signs of the pilot and other passenger.

According to KNSD 7/39, the 2006 Cessna 172S, registered to San Diego Flight Training International Inc., was rented by the pilot -- a graduate of the flight school and a Mexican citizen. It and another accompanying aircraft took off from Montgomery Field at 1300, landing in Long Beach. On the return flight, the pilot reportedly deviated from the planned route and a witness in another aircraft reported the going down near Oceanside at 1711 Sunday evening.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the aircraft may have been unable to get out of an intentional spin. “Based on witness accounts, preliminary reports suggest that he tried to,” he said.

The unidentified recovered passenger, who only spoke broken English, was rescued by the harbor police after being spotted by a private boater, and taken to a hospital in La Jolla. The missing pilot and passenger were not identified.

“It's very sad,” said Phil Thalheimer, co-owner of the flight school. “We've never had something like this in 18, 19 years of operation.”

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 2436F        Make/Model: C172      Description: 172, P172, R172, Skyhawk, Hawk XP, Cutla
  Date: 06/23/2008     Time: 0011

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: OCEANSIDE   State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE OCEAN, THERE WERE
  THREE PERSONS ON BOARD, ONE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURES AND TWO ARE PRESUMMED
  FATALLY INJURED, NEAR OCEANSIDE, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   3     Fat:   2     Ser:   1     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: CRQ 0100Z 21005KT 10SM SKC A2990

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Training      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: SAN DIEGO, CA  (WP09)

FMI: www.faa.gov