Particle.news

Download on the App Store

NTSB Releases Preliminary Findings on Fatal Point Loma Cessna Crash

Investigators documented sudden altitude changes before the crash without identifying a probable cause

Image
The NTSB is en route to investigate the crash of a Cessna into a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
A flight path and composite video graphic showing the airplane climbing into the cloud layer from a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released July 8, 2025.

Overview

  • The report shows the Cessna 414A abruptly descended hundreds of feet, climbed nearly as high and then plunged into the ocean about two miles west of Point Loma.
  • Just before impact, the pilot radioed multiple mayday calls and said he was struggling to maintain heading and climb.
  • All six people aboard—including the pilot, his pregnant wife and an Arizona father with his three adult sons—remain missing as most wreckage lies unrecovered in 200-foot-deep water.
  • Multi-agency search crews from the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Harbor Police and city lifeguards combed roughly 300 square miles over 35 hours before suspending operations.
  • The formal NTSB investigation remains open and a final report on the crash is expected within two years.