Body found in charred plane at Half Moon Bay

The charred wreckage of a single-engine plane found off the coast of San Mateo County is believed to belong to a man who was on his way from Half Moon Bay to Arizona, authorities said.

County park rangers discovered the wreckage about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday about a mile from the Half Moon Bay airport, where the flight originated, said Deputy Rebecca Rosenblatt of the San Mateo County sheriff’s office.

The plane departed from the airport about 5:50 a.m. Monday, said Ian Gregor, a public information officer with the Federal Aviation Administration in an e-mail.

The pilot’s wife reported that the aircraft had failed to show up on schedule in Marana, Ariz., sparking a multi-agency search that included the Coast Guard, Gregor wrote.  

Federal investigators are on scene, and the National Transportation Safety Board expects to arrive  Wednesday, Gregor said.

Rosenblatt said that the coroner has not released the identity of the person found in the crash, but authorities believe it is the same plane that took off from Half Moon Bay.

The wreckage discovered near a bluff above the ocean was badly burned, she said.

 

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