1 Killed, 1 Rescued in Plane Crash Off Catalina
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The pilot of a small, private airplane died Wednesday when his aircraft crashed into the sea two miles off Santa Catalina Island, but a passenger survived and was rescued by a pleasure boat, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Robin Sport aircraft was flying from Long Beach to the isthmus on Catalina when it developed engine problems, authorities said. The plane crashed two miles from Isthmus Harbor.
The pleasure boat Memory Bank discovered the 42-year-old passenger at 3:10 p.m. and fished him out of the water. The survivor had not suffered serious injury, but was taken by helicopter to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for examination, said Tony Migliorini, a Coast Guard officer and spokesman.
The search for the missing pilot involved a Coast Guard patrol boat, a utility boat and a helicopter. Personnel on the helicopter found the pilot’s body about 3:50 p.m., facedown and motionless in the water, the Coast Guard said.
Neither the pilot nor the survivor were identified by the Coast Guard.
The incident was under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, Migliorini said.
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