Overview

• The National Transportation Safety Board opened a formal probe on Thursday into the disappearance of a 2014 Cessna T240 owned by Scripps Research Institute CEO Peter Schultz.
• Flight tracking data indicates the plane continued flying after losing radio contact and is presumed to have crashed into the Pacific with no debris or survivors found.
• The private flight departed Ramona Airport Sunday afternoon and vanished after failing to respond to runway clearance at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
• Only the pilot, an experienced friend of Schultz whose identity has not been disclosed, was aboard during the single-engine flight.
• The NTSB’s investigation will examine flight data records, maintenance logs and communications with support from the FAA, U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Region Southwest.