3 killed in plane crash off Newport Beach
A small private plane crashed into the water off Newport Beach on Sunday evening, killing at least three people, Newport Beach police said.
“Whether or not we have more victims, I don’t know,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Burdette said.
The single-engine Beechcraft Musketeer was traveling from Mexico to Torrance when the crash occurred at about 5:45 p.m., according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Burdette said the pilot knew the plane was in trouble and had radioed that he wanted to try to land on the street near the Fashion Island shopping mall.
Police were clearing cars and people from Newport Center Drive so the plane could land when they heard it had crashed into a mud flat in the nearby Back Bay. The craft came to rest upside down in the water, with its landing gear pointing to the sky.
Police did not indentify the people on the plane, which was registered to Palos Verdes real estate agent Chuck Chambers.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board plan to investigate the accident. It can take months for the NTSB to determine the probable cause of an accident.
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