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Plane wreckage pulled from water off Goleta coast

Officials say the pilot was found inside the plane
Plane wreckage.jpg
Posted at 11:39 AM, Oct 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-02 14:44:07-04

After a multi-day search, divers located the plane Thursday that crashed into the ocean off Campus Point over the weekend.

Pictures from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office show wreckage Thursday evening after it was pulled out of the water.

The sheriff’s office says the pilot, identified as Deborah Nicholson, 61, from the Lake Tahoe area, was found inside.

The search for the Cesna 182 Skylane began Sunday morning, shortly after people reported seeing a plane rapidly losing altitude toward the ocean off the coast of Goleta Beach Park.

Search teams found debris consistent with the plane a short time later.

The FAA previously said it would send investigators out once the plane was out of the water.

Santa Barbara Airport officials say the plane took off from the airport shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday and was headed to the Lake Tahoe area.

No word on what may have caused the plane to go down.