Pilot Killed in Ocean Was From Placentia

Investigators on Monday identified the pilot who died Sunday when his twin-engine Piper Aerostar crashed into choppy waters between Newport Beach and Santa Catalina Island.

Using his fingerprints, investigators with the Los Angeles County coroner’s office identified Walter L. Cecil, 44, of Placentia as the man flying the plane when it crashed about 12 miles from Newport Beach.

As of Monday evening, with National Transportation Safety Board investigators looking into the crash, little was known about what caused it. Cecil was found by rescuers Sunday strapped into his seat.

Lt. Cmdr. Charles Cashin, chief of operations for the Coast Guard in Long Beach, said the six-seat 1974 plane disintegrated and that rescuers found only Cecil and pieces of fiberglass and metal that amounted to less than 1% of the craft.

According to state records, Cecil was a licensed medical professional specializing in helping people with respiratory problems. Calls to a business partner and to Cecil’s family were not returned Monday.

Neighbors said Cecil’s wife, Rhonda, and two teenage children from a previous marriage left their house with relatives Sunday.

On Sunday, Cecil had taken off from Fullerton Municipal Airport about 9:15 a.m. About 11 a.m., the pilot of a Navy plane in the area saw debris and an oil slick on the water.

Helicopter crews and dozens of rescuers searched for survivors; by day’s end they had found Cecil.

Federal Aviation Administration officials think Cecil was practicing maneuvers about one mile above the ocean before he crashed. Officials believe he was the only person aboard.