The Region : Famed Stunt Pilot Crashes Off Coast

An aerobatic plane piloted by famed Hollywood stunt pilot Art Scholl crashed off the coast of Carlsbad Monday night, authorities reported. Crews from a Coast Guard helicopter and cutter and the Oceanside Harbor Patrol were searching for the wreckage of the small aircraft. Scholl of Rialto, Calif., flew a propeller-driven plane in stunt work for the movie “Blue Thunder” and was a veteran stunt pilot in many other films, friends said. The Palomar Airport control tower reported the plane down at 5:50 p.m. about five miles offshore from San Diego Gas & Electric’s Encina power plant. The first Coast Guard unit to reach the scene, in a Falcon jet, reported seeing only debris in the water. The plane was a Pitts Special, a single-engine biplane used mainly for aerobatics.