Search For Third Person Killed In San Pedro Mid-Air Collision Continues
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — Authorities continued to search for the remains of a third person Monday morning following an in-flight collision of two small planes off San Pedro.
The remains of two men were already recovered Sunday afternoon, approximately two miles outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Jack Ewell said. Those remains will be identified by the coroner's office.
The crash happened about 3:15 p.m. Friday, and a small debris field was found soon afterward. Two men, one 61 and the other 81, were believed to be in one plane and a woman was believed to have been piloting the second. She was identified by her husband as Mary Falstrom, 72, of Torrance.
The two men in the second plane were also from the South Bay area, a Coast Guard official said. One was identified by friends as Martin Clement, a Catholic church deacon who worked as a financial planner.
The wreckage of one plane and two victims were found in water 105 feet deep, he said.
The two small aircraft believed to be involved in the crash were described as a Beech 35 Bonanza and a Citabria, according to FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.
"Local authorities say that two people were aboard the Beech Bonanza and one person was onboard the Citabria," Kenitzer said.
According to officials, both aircraft were operated out of the Torrance Municipal Airport.
The crew of a fishing boat reported a plane hitting the water on Friday, an official with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguards Division said.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said two aircraft appeared on their radar systems shortly before the crash was reported, but then both disappeared. This led investigators to believe there had been a collision, Anderson said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash, according to Kenitzer.
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