RANCHO PALOS VERDES : Missing Pilot May Be Lost at Sea, Civil Air Patrol Says
A Cessna 152 piloted by a consulting engineer who took off from Oceanside last week apparently went down off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, a Civil Air Patrol spokesman said Thursday.
Daniel Anthony Petri, 46, of Santa Cruz was on his way back to San Jose on Friday when the single-engine aircraft disappeared from radar, said Civil Air Patrol Maj. Wyn Selwyn.
The plane was reported overdue the next day, Selwyn said. Teams searched for Petri, but the hunt was suspended after “evidence indicated the aircraft was lost at sea,” Selwyn said.
Authorities found a radar readout that seems to show the plane at 300-600 feet of altitude, off Palos Verdes, Selwyn said.
Petri apparently decided to skirt the large restricted airspace area over Los Angeles International Airport by veering over the sea, where visual flight was not recommended at the time because of the fog, Selwyn said.
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