Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
The U.S. Coast Guard announced its search for three people aboard an airplane used by a Navy contractor that crashed in the Pacific Ocean Wednesday has been suspended.
The search covered 334 square miles and was unsuccessful, officials said.
The Learjet left Point Mugu Naval Base in Ventura County on Wednesday morning and a crash was first reported around 8:00 a.m., about a mile southwest of San Clemente Island.
San Clemente Island located about 80 miles west of San Diego and is owned by the U.S. Navy.
(courtesy image)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that it was investigating the crash of the Gates Learjet 36A. The names of the three missing people or further details have not been released.
According to the Coast Guard, the initial report from the Navy’s Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, which conducts offshore air traffic control, was of an aircraft emergency aboard the Learjet, and that the aircraft was unable to make it back to San Clemente Island’s runway.
Along with the Coast Guard and Navy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Air Force were also involved in search efforts.
