Possible Downed Aircraft: Coast Guard Suspends Search

REDONDO BEACH, CA — The Coast Guard suspended its search for a possible downed aircraft near Redondo Beach Saturday. The Coast Guard ended the search at 4:10 p.m., after both a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter air crew and 45-foot Response Boat crew successfully completed multiple search patterns in the area with no indications of any aircraft in distress.

At 11:45 a.m., watchers at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received an emergency notification for assistance coming from an emergency location transmitter beacon, the Coast Guard said. Shortly after that, several witnesses reported seeing an oil sheen on the surface of the water, near the Redondo Beach Harbor entrance.

"We have no reports of missing aircraft or witness reports of an aircraft crash," Ian Gregor, the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific Region Public Affairs Manager, told City News Service. "Boats also have ELTs, so I don't know if the signal is from a boat or an aircraft." The Coast Guard also did not report finding a boat in distress.

By City News / Image via Shutterstock