The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Cessna 210, which crashed into the waters of San Pablo Bay near Richmond, California, after it collided with a WWII-era Hawker Sea Fury T Mk.20 at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. The FAA issued a temporary flight restriction over the search area to protect Coast Guard helicopters conducting the search effort along with several boat crews from several agencies. The search effort went on for 20 hours before being suspended “until new evidence is presented,” a Coast Guard news release said.
While some debris has been found, the pilot and the passenger that was likely on board the airplane are still missing. FAA public affairs manager Ian Gregor said that preliminary information indicated that there was one passenger in each airplane.
NTSB spokesman Terry Williams told Flying that an NTSB investigator arrived at the scene on Monday and hoped to speak with the Sea Fury pilot, who landed safely about 40 minutes after the accident occurred, at the Eagle’s Nest Airport, located northwest of Ione, California.
Gregor said the Sea Fury was N20SF — a favorite at the Reno Air Races also known as Dreadnought.
Gregor said both airplanes had departed from Half Moon Bay Airport, where The Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show took place the same day. Some reports indicate the airplanes were flying in formation.
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