Search For 3 Missing After Plane Crash Suspended: Coast Guard

SAN DIEGO, CA — Authorities have suspended their search for the three men involved in a plane crash Wednesday off San Clemente Island.

After searching all day Wednesday and through the night, officials decided to suspend to effort at 9 a.m. Thursday, with no remains or victims found, according to U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Levi Read.

The agency received a report around 8 a.m. Wednesday that a Phoenix Air Learjet had crashed a mile southwest of San Clemente Island. The plane was a civilian aircraft with civilian personnel on board that had been contracted by the U.S. Navy and took off Wednesday morning from Point Mugu.

About 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard tweeted that rescuers had found aircraft debris in the area of the crash. The Coast Guard, Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Customs and Border Protection searched 334 square miles for the victims, Read said.

There have been several fatal crashes around the island during military training exercises in recent years. In 2020, eight Marines from Camp Pendleton and one Navy sailor were killed when an amphibious assault vehicle sank July 30 near San Clemente Island. Less than a month later, two soldiers were killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash during training on the island.