Woman's Body Recovered Following Plane Crash Off California Coast

The body of a woman has been recovered Monday after a plane crashed off the California coast Sunday night. The U.S. Coast Guard had called off its search efforts Monday when the body was discovered in the ocean by commercial fishermen, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday off the coast of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. According to witnesses, the aircraft had been making sputtering noises and was flying erratically before it plunged out of sight. Plane wreckage was later found in the ocean. How many people were on board or what type of plane was involved is not yet known.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office had been dispatched to assist with search efforts Monday when commercial fishermen discovered the body of a woman in the ocean.

"Unfortunately, it was during this same time a deceased female was observed in the water by a commercial fishing boat," said a statement released Monday by Sergeant. Phillip Hallworth of the sheriff's office. "The body of the deceased female adult was brought to the shore and was taken to the San Mateo County Coroner's Office. The identity of this female is still being determined, but it is thought she is likely associated with the plane crash given she was located in the same location."

The incident comes after a series of near misses between planes and deadly crashes. Earlier this month, Alaska Airlines was forced to ground an entire fleet of planes after a section of fuselage broke off in mid-flight.

Still, experts insist that American air travel remains safe, and, according to government figures, it is statistically safer than traveling by car.

Following Sunday's crash, emergency crews from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard were seen at Moss Beach as they searched for plane wreckage and tried to find survivors. Photographs taken at the scene appear to show a helicopter with a searchlight scanning the waves below.

Newsweek reached out by email to the U.S. Coast Guard for further information and comment.

Reporter Gia Vang shared images from the scene on X (formerly Twitter) as the rescue operation got underway.

Local news station KGO spoke to a diner who had been enjoying a meal in a restaurant when her party saw the plane struggling in midair. "We were having dinner out on the patio, and we heard this motor engine puttering—like you hear in the movies when a plane is about to crash," Melissa Richter said.

She went on: "And you hear the engine, and it came around the corner. It's kind of a big plane, very visible. We figured something was wrong because it was so close to the restaurant.

"And then it was definitely pivoting back and forth, and then it looked like it put on the gas, went a little bit faster, then it went down and the engine cut out. Then it banked in, and we lost sight of it at that point," Richter said.

Another local news station, KTVU, reported that the plane had taken off from East Bay, a region in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visibility across the area was poor on Sunday night, according to NBC San Francisco.

Update 1/15/24, 1:55 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

Update 1/15/24, 7:09 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and the headline was changed to reflect this update.