HispanicBusiness

Oct. 30 -- A search is underway for nine people off the Southern California coast after the collision of a Navy helicopter and a Coast Guard plane from Sacramento.

Seven of the personnel were aboard the Coast Guard C-130 transport plane based at the former McClellan Air Force base in North Highlands.

On the C-130 the crew consisted of two pilots, a flight engineer, a dropmaster, observers to assist with searching and a navigator, officials said in Southern California.

Authorities said the two aircraft collided during good weather about 7:10 p.m. Thursday about 15 miles east of San Clemente Island, about 50 miles off the San Diego coast.

The Coast Guard plane was on a search-and-rescue mission and the Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopter was performing a training flight.

Navy and Coast Guard ships and helicopters operated through the night in an effort to find survivors. At Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, there was concern for those who were aboard the C-130 and their families.

"We are currently working with the Navy on a massive search-and-rescue mission off the California coast," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Alan Haraf in North Highlands.

Haraf said witnesses reported that both aircaft hit the water. The C-130 had been in the air for nearly four hours when the mid-air collision occurred.

"That is when we lost communication with them," Haraf said.

The seven crew aboard the C-130 are stationed at Sacramento's Coast Guard air station so they and their families live in the area. Everyone at the local Coast Guard outpost was pulling together and supporting each other, said Haraf.

"The Coast Guard is a small branch that is very close knit," said Haraf. "We are a family. There is a lot of concern for the families and the crew stationed here."

Haraf said the Coast Guard is keeping family of the crew informed about the latest search efforts.

The C-130 is a long-range aircraft used for searches and law enforcement.

At a televised press conference this morning in Southern California, officials said that there were no remains or survivors yet found. However, there was a large debris field in the ocean.

Authorities said the C-130 was looking for a rower who was reported to have fallen from a dinghy.

A pilot reported seeing a fireball near where the aircraft collided, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said, and the Coast Guard informed the FAA that debris from a C-130 had been spotted.

Cpl Michael Stevens, a spokesman for the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, said the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter was on a training mission when it went down. The Cobra and its crew are part of Marine Aircraft Group 39, based at Camp Pendleton, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is headquartered at Miramar, Stevens said.

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