SAN ONOFRE -- One person was killed and a second seriously injured when a small plane crashed into the sea yesterday afternoon near the nuclear generating station.
The plane had not been in restricted airspace, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.
A woman in her 20s was killed and a man in his 30s was taken by helicopter to an area hospital, Oceanside Police Sgt. Mike Goldsmith said.
The man was unconscious and had severe hypothermia when he arrived at the Scripps La Jolla trauma center, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was in serious condition last night.
The Cessna 172N had flown from Hawthorne to Palomar Airport and was en route back to Hawthorne Airport near Los Angeles when it crashed about 1 mile south of the power station at 3:06 p.m., said Jerry Johnston of the Federal Aviation Administration. Johnston said air traffic controllers had been in normal contact with the plane.
The victims were in the water about an hour before being retrieved by rescuers, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
It wasn't known immediately which victim had been piloting the plane or where they were from, authorities said.
Rescue workers searched waters in the crash vicinity yesterday evening for a possible third victim but could not confirm that an additional person had been on board, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Greg Manninen.
A San Diego police helicopter, first on the scene, tossed life preservers to the victims and guided surfers in the area to assist the injured as they bobbed in the waves pending rescue by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The water temperature was about 57 degrees.
Personnel from Camp Pendleton, the state Park Service, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the Oceanside Police Department assisted in the rescue effort.
Cause of the crash was not known. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. The victims' identities were being withheld until their families could be notified, FAA spokeswoman Diana Joubert said.
Brian Hazle: (760) 476-8208; brian.hazle@uniontrib.com
