Updated: Sheriffs Office Provides Update on Downed Plane in Delta, Pilot Identified

At around 5:30 pm Sunday, Contra Costa County Firefighters were dispatched to a report of an airplane crash into the delta waters.

Fire units responded to the Antioch Marina where fire boats were dispatched across the Delta to Broad Slough.

After about 30-minutes into the search, Rescue Boat 81 who located a backpack, ID, flight map, and a tail number. No body has yet been recovered. Debris from a small aircraft found in Broad Slough, west of Kimball Island.

The US Coast Guard, Pittsburg Police, Contra Costa County Sheriff, and CHP air support assisted in the search.

After about 70 minutes into the search, it switched from a rescue mission to a recovery mission.

By 7:24 pm, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office took over the incident.

Update:

Per Contra Costa County Fire, the plane  was rented out of Buchanan Airfield in Concord around 3:00 pm and the pilot was the only occupant. Ongoing recovery operations being conducted by Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

Check back for more details…article posted from cellphone so excuse any typos. Video from incident posted later.

UPDATE – Sheriffs Office

Airplane Down in Delta/Pilot Missing

Today at about 5:32 PM, a boater notified Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Dispatch of a small plane crashing into the California Delta at the north end of Broad Slough, north of Pittsburg.

Several agencies that included the Office of the Sheriff Marine Patrol Unit, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Pittsburg PD, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard, and the California Highway Patrol responded. Debris and a backpack were found at the location. The plane is believed to have taken off from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord at about 5 PM. The pilot was the only occupant in the plane. The name of the pilot is not being released at this time as his identity has not been confirmed.

A search was conducted by the responding agencies with negative results. The FAA and NTSB have been contacted. Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Units have been conducting sonar searches for evidence of the plane wreckage.

Any witnesses to this incident are asked to contact the NTSB by email at [email protected].

Update – Monday, June 10

This morning the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit went to Broad Slough in the Delta where a plane was reported to have gone down yesterday. Marine Patrol Deputies, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, used a side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle to find the exact location of the plane. The plane wreckage was located at about 10:30 AM. A Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was later deployed.

Update – Tuesday, June 11

Update on Downed Plane in Delta/Pilot Identified

During a search yesterday of Broad Slough where the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit located the plane wreckage, the Dive Team recovered a body from the wreckage, which was in approximately 20 feet of water, at about 5:30 PM.

The Coroner’s Division later identified the person, who was the pilot and only occupant of the plane, as 22-year-old Colin Um of Berkeley.