Six Aboard Small Plane Missing after Crash in Pacific Ocean in San Diego
Coast Guard Leads Search After Small Plane Crashes Off San Diego Coast
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (June 9, 2025) — A multi-agency search effort is underway after a small plane carrying six people crashed shortly after takeoff into the Pacific Ocean approximately three miles off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego on Sunday afternoon.
The plane departed from the San Diego International Airport. The pilot, Landon Baldwin, from Pima, Ariz., his wife, Torrie (Beus) Baldwin, both in their 20s, along with Jeremy Bingham from Gila Valley, Ariz., with his three adult sons, Ayden, Gavin, and Bailey, were aboard the aircraft, according to a news report.
The U.S. Coast Guard received reports of the crash at 12:50 p.m. on June 8th and immediately launched a search operation using multiple resources, including a Jayhawk helicopter, a C-27 fixed-wing aircraft, the Cutter Sea Otter, and two smaller response boats.
“This is the second major crash involving a small jet in San Diego this past month,” said Attorney James Johnson. Six people died May 22nd when a Cessna 550 Citation II went down near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in Kearny Mesa.
By early evening, none of the six people believed to have been aboard the aircraft had been located. Search and rescue operations continued into the evening hours as Coast Guard crews combed the debris field.
The aircraft, bound for Phoenix, Arizona, was identified as a 1970 Cessna 414 — a pressurized, twin-engine plane designed to carry between six and eight passengers.
“After receiving instructions to turn to a heading of 180 after departure, the pilot radioed that he struggled to maintain heading and altitude,” according to a statement by ASN. “ADS-B data show that the aircraft entered a descending left turn, losing 1,900 feet in 13 seconds. The aircraft began to climb again, but ADS-B data show an erratic altitude and heading until the moment the aircraft impacted the surface of the water, six minutes after it had commenced the takeoff roll.”
Rescue Operation
Initial assistance was provided by San Diego Fire-Rescue lifeguards, who responded to reports from passing vessels of a large splash seen offshore. Lifeguards deployed several rescue boats and personal watercraft to the scene, where they discovered an oil sheen and scattered debris on the water’s surface.
However, officials soon determined the crash site was in waters likely exceeding 200 feet in depth — beyond the scope of local lifeguard diving operations. The Coast Guard subsequently assumed full responsibility for the search, rescue, and recovery efforts.
“Initial debris recovered by lifeguards has been turned over to Coast Guard authorities,” said Candace Hadley, spokesperson for San Diego Fire-Rescue. “Our Triton vessel remains on standby to provide additional support if needed.”
Authorities have not yet released the identities of the passengers or a possible cause of the crash. The investigation remains ongoing.
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