The State - News from Aug. 7, 1989

A small plane whose pilot was spotting schools of fish for a fishing boat crashed into the Pacific off the Orange County coast, prompting a search by the Coast Guard and Navy for the flier, authorities said. Searchers found a sneaker, a flight plan, an aerosol can and pieces of the aircraft, but no sign of the pilot, Joseph A. Shirley, 42, of Del Mar, several hours after the plane nose-dived into the ocean 10 miles southwest of Dana Point. Coast Guard spokeswoman Elizabeth Neely said crews aboard a Coast Guard cutter and patrol boat and two Navy vessels searched for the pilot of the Cessna 172 until nightfall. The plane is believed to have taken off from Gillespie Field near El Cajon in San Diego County, Neely said. Shirley was working with the commercial fishing vessel Horizon, spotting schools of fish.