Plane crashes off south O.C. coast

A small private plane, believed to be headed for John Wayne Airport, crashed off the coast of San Clemente on Saturday afternoon, likely killing the pilot and three passengers, the Harbor Patrol said.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the plane crashed about two miles off the coast and sank in 200 feet of water, officials said.

“I don’t think we’re going to have any survivors,” said Lt. Erin Giudice of the Harbor Patrol.

The single-engine, fixed-wing Cessna belonged to an Orange County business and the owner and three employees may have been on board, Giudice said. The sheriff’s office had not released the pilot’s name or the passengers’ names late Saturday.

The Harbor Patrol could not confirm the name of the business or its city of operation.

Authorities did not know the cause of the crash Saturday evening; no distress call had been made, Giudice said. A passenger on Spirit of Dana Point, a boat owned by the Ocean Institute, called the Harbor Patrol at 2:06 p.m. after seeing the plane go down.

As the sun set, rescue crews searched the dark waters for any signs of survivors. The search was suspended late Saturday.

Harbor Patrol officials set marker buoys at the approximate site of the crash. Crews only recovered small pieces of the plane.

Crews also found a flight manual, credit cards, credit card receipts, and a stack of paperwork on how to repair an engine, Giudice said.

Giudice said one of the credit card receipts found in the water came from an airport in San Diego, leading authorities to speculate that the plane had stopped there before heading north. The crews also recovered a receipt of a fuel purchase in Mexico, said Brian Milcetich of the Coast Guard.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jerry Johnston said the plane was believed to be headed for John Wayne Airport.

Vessel Assist, a private rescue company based in Dana Point, sent boats to help scan the area.

“We had eyes all over the water,” said Vessel Assist Capt. David Drenick.