The small plane that crashed off the coast of San Diego a month ago, killing all six people aboard, abruptly descended hundreds of feet for unknown reasons and then climbed back up almost as far before plunging into the ocean, according to a preliminary accident report released Tuesday by the National Transporation Safety Board.
The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna 414A, 28-year-old Landon Baldwin of Pima, Arizona, radioed just prior to the June 8 crash that he was having trouble keeping the plane on a controlled heading and getting it to gain altitude, the NTSB report states.
Minutes later, at about 12:30 p.m., the business plane went down into the sea about two miles west of Point Loma.
The report does not include a ruling on the cause of the crash.
The victims' bodies and most of the wreckage of the plane remain missing, according to the federal agency.
Also killed in the accident were Baldwin's pregnant 25-year-old wife, Torrie; fellow Arizona resident Jeremy Bingham, 48; and Bingham's sons, Ayden, 21; Bailey, 27; and Gavin, 25.
Landon Baldwin, who had flown the group to California from Arizona on June 7, had just taken off with them from San Diego International Airport en route back to Phoenix when he began having difficulty controlling the aircraft.
Minutes earlier, as the plane traveled over the coastline of San Diego, an air-traffic controller instructed Baldwin to make a 180-degree left turn, the government report states.
The Cessna began a gradual turn, and after climbing to about 2,000 feet, it made a sudden, steep descent to about 200 feet.
The controller issued the pilot a low-altitude alert and instructed him to climb to 4,000 feet immediately, to which Baldwin replied by repeating the instructions.
The controller then asked Baldwin if he needed assistance and asked him what was the nature of the problem, and Baldwin replied that he was struggling to control the airplane.
In response, the controller told him the closest airport was about a mile away and asked Baldwin if he could see it. Baldwin answered that he could not and, as the aircraft made a series of "erratic" maneuvers, issued several mayday calls, the report states.
A video camera on the ground captured images of the airplane descending, then climbing to roughly 1,800 feet and flying into a layer of the clouds, where it disappeared from view
A short time later, the crew of a police helicopter flying about 10 miles east of the accident site received a request to search for any signs of an airplane hitting the water near where the Cessna had vanished. Upon reaching the area, they spotted an oil slick in the water.
Search crews found scattered wreckage of the aircraft floating in a spot where the water is about 200 feet deep.
(Photo reporting partner 10News)