LONG BEACH, Calif. – The search for victims and the wreckage of two small planes that crashed in skies off the Southern California coast yielded oil, a nosewheel and seat cushions, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.
Some of the debris was recovered during the night.
One plane, a Cessna single-engine 172, was occupied by a student pilot and a flight instructor. "We think this was an instructional flight," said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane is registered to Aero Aviation, a flight school based at Long Beach Airport. A phone message left at the school's office was not immediately returned.
Gregor said no information was available about the occupants of the other plane, a Cessna 310 twin-engine.
Both planes took off from Long Beach airport, he said. Another pilot of a small plane reported seeing the collision about 6 p.m.
The Coast Guard, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Long Beach Fire Department deployed a helicopter and rescue boats to search the ocean for debris through the night.
One debris field was located about five miles south of the Long Beach breakwater, while the other was found about three miles northeast of the first, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young.
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