Authorities deployed boats and aircraft in the search for a Cessna 182 airplane that crashed off the coast of Isla Vista on Sunday.
Just after 7 a.m. Sunday, a witness spotted a single-engine plane descend after flying approximately two miles out of the Santa Barbara Airport.
The reported plane is a Cessna 182. Deanna Zachrisson, a spokeswoman for the airport, told local reporters that the plane was heading to the Lake Tahoe area. She thinks a female pilot was the only one onboard.
Four Santa Barbara County Fire Department personal watercrafts, a Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol boat, a Coast Guard cutter, a Coast Guard helicopter and a Santa Barbara County Sheriff Air Support helicopter responded to the report.
They found oil sheen and debris approximately two miles out from the coast of Isla Vista. The water is 180-250 feet deep at the site.
The Coast Guard called LA County divers, a team with specialized equipment also utilized during the Conception search.
— Annelise Hanshaw
