Wreckage Found of Small Plane That Crashed in Harbor Area
Wreckage recovered from the ocean near San Pedro on Sunday was identified as belonging to a small plane that went down Friday evening, Coast Guard officials said.
Federal aviation authorities will investigate to determine what caused the Cessna 310 piloted by owner Peter Bell, 31, of Carson to disappear from radar screens less than 15 minutes after taking off from Torrance Airport, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Kristine Johnson.
A seat cover and part of what appeared to be an inside wall from the aircraft were identified by Bell’s wife, Johnson said. The wreckage was found about 10 a.m. Sunday 1 1/2 miles south of Cabrillo Beach, on the western edge of Los Angeles Harbor.
Bell, a private flight instructor who worked with Rolling Hills Aviation in Torrance, purchased the plane several months ago, primarily to ferry clothes and medical supplies to religious missions in Baja California, said Bill Sherwood, president of Rolling Hills Aviation.
Sherwood asked that anyone who saw anything unusual along the San Pedro-L.A. Harbor coast early Friday evening to contact authorities or his company.
“We need some answers,” Sherwood said. “We need to know what happened.”
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