Plane went down near historic California lighthouse soon after takeoff, data show; 3 victims ID'd

Three people were killed after a small plane crashed in the waters off Monterey County on Saturday night, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Monterey County officials alerted the Coast Guard's Monterey station at 10:55 p.m. Saturday that a twin-engine Beechcraft with three people aboard had crashed about 200 to 300 yards offshore, near the historic Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove, the Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday.

The three victims were identified as Steve Eugene Clatterbuck, 60, James Vincent, 36, and Jamie Lee Tabscott, 44, the Monterey County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The plane took off from the San Carlos airport at 10:11 p.m. and was last seen at 10:37 p.m. near Monterey, according to flight tracking data from Flight Aware.

The Coast Guard launched a 29-foot response boat that arrived on the scene shortly after 11 p.m.

A Coast Guard helicopter and three California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection boat crews also assisted in the search, along with two Cal Fire drones. Multiple local law enforcement agencies also assisted in the response.

The Beechcraft was found, according to the Coast Guard.

The plane had been scheduled to leave for Gooding Municipal Airport in Idaho on Sunday morning — a two-hour, 48-minute flight — and to fly back to Monterey later in the day.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

ABC7 News in San Francisco reported that airplane parts, including at least one wheel, had washed up on nearby Asilomar State Beach by Sunday morning.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.