B of A Deposit Records Lost in Plane Crash

The crash of a charter flight off the California coast near Del Mar on Monday night has thrown Bank of America’s record-keeping in San Diego into a state of confusion.

On board the plane were records of a major portion of the commercial and consumer deposits made Monday by Bank of America customers throughout San Diego County.

Pilot Cynthia Rice, 32, was still missing and presumed dead Tuesday afternoon when the U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for the twin-engine Cessna charter operated by Pacific Air Charter.

The bank’s San Diego-area customers who made deposits Monday were told Tuesday that they may have to present documentary evidence of their deposits to be credited with the transactions. Customers were asked to call the toll-free number on their statements to learn the status of their accounts.

“We are working with the affected customers in going through a reconstruction process, asking for their help in re-creating the transaction,” a Bank of America spokesman said Tuesday.

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But one of BofA’s commercial customers, who asked that his name not be used, complained that the bank was not being aggressive enough in contacting customers to warn them of possible snafus from the loss of the records.

Although Bank of America’s checks and deposit slips are handled locally, the bank’s transactions are recorded electronically at one of the the bank’s two processing centers.

The records lost Monday were en route to the BofA facility in Los Angeles.