Anonymous
On Monday the Coast Guard suspended their search and rescue efforts and transitioned command to the Sheriff’s Office for a missing person investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office has requested assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau’s Dive program (SEB Dive) due to the depth of the location and equipment required for this operation.
SEB Dive arrived at the scene Monday with their Ocean Rescue boat and members of the SEB Dive team that are capable of dives to depths of 300 feet sea water, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Divers will be searching for a Cessna 182 Skylane and its sole occupant, 61-year-old Deborah Nicholson from the Lake Tahoe area.
Update by edhat staff
Emergency responders are at Goleta Beach searching for a small aircraft that was last seen descending rapidly towards the ocean.
At 7:09 a.m. Sunday, Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to a report of a small single-engine aircraft believed to be down 2.5 miles off Goleta Beach Park. Witnesses report seeing the airplane, later determined to be a Cessna 182, depart the runway at Santa Barbara Airport, which runs parallel to the ocean, and the plane rapidly lost altitude, reports Mike Eliason from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD).
The plane was headed towards Lake Tahoe and is believed to only have one person on board, a female pilot.
The SBCFD water rescue team and helicopter and Harbor Patrol from the City of Santa Barbara responded to the scene searching for wreckage. An oil sheen was detected early on, but oil sheens are normally seen in this area due to natural seepage, said Eliason.
US Coast Guard Watchstanders launched 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.
An edhat reader on the scene reported the aircraft was located as well as some personal possessions. There does not appear to be any survivors, although this has yet to be confirmed by officials.
Approximately one hour after crews arrived on the scene, responders further investigated an oil sheen with a scent similar to aircraft fuel instead of natural seepage. Debris consistent with the missing aircraft was located shortly thereafter approximately two miles off the coast of Isla Vista, said Eliason.
An LA County Dive Team that also responded to the Conception Boat Fire is en route to investigate the debris field area that has depths of 180 to 250 feet of water. The team has specialized equipment to dive at those depths with radar to locate wreckage.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the incident.
This is a developing story.
Photo: SBCFD
Photo: Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office
What is up with all the emergency vehicles and Coast Guard at Campus Point in Goleta? It looks like a major response and someone said an airplane crashed in the water?
