Wreckage Of Small Plane Found In Delta; Pilot's Identity Pending

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Using sonar and remotely operated vehicles to search the Delta waters, emergency crews found the wreckage Monday of a small plane that crashed Sunday evening into Broad Slough north of Antioch, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. A boater witnessed the plane go down at the north end of Broad Slough and notified authorities about the crash at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Responding agencies, including the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the U.S. Coast Guard, found the tail of a small plane, a backpack and some flight charts floating in the water Sunday night —but the location of the plane itself and any possible victims were not determined until the following day.

Investigators say the plane, a Piper Cherokee single-engine, took off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord around 5 p.m.

The plane wreckage was located at about 10:30 a.m. Monday, sheriff's Spokesman Jimmy Lee said in a news release.

The sheriff’s dive team was later deployed and is continuing with recovery operations, Lee said.

The plane wreckage is expected to be removed from the Delta within the next few days.

The pilot was believed to be the only person on board at the time of the crash, but Lee said late Monday afternoon that the pilot's identity had not been confirmed.

The sheriff's office did not indicate whether the pilot survived or if a body was recovered.

The Pittsburg Police Department, Solano County Sheriff's Office and California Highway Patrol also helped with the search effort, Lee said.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were also contacted; any witnesses to the crash are asked to contact the NTSB by email at witness@NTSB.GOV.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.