Chilling cockpit audio reveals final moments of San Diego plane that crashed killing all on board
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Featured Image Credit: Aircraft.com
Audio footage from a jet that crashed into the ocean and killed all six passengers on board has revealed the pilot made a chilling final call to air traffic control.
Emergency services were called to reports of a plane crash on Sunday (June 8) after a small passenger jet crashed into the water off Point Loma, a peninsula in San Diego.
The aircraft, later identified as a 1970 Cessna 414, was carrying six people when it went down at around 12.45pm, according to San Diego Fire Rescue and the US Coast Guard.
Flightaware, a flight tracking tool, reveals the jet set off from San Diego International Airport and was headed towards Phoenix, Arizona, reports NBC 7.
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However, the plane tragically never arrived and now, audio footage has revealed the pilot had made emergency calls to air traffic control not long after takeoff.
Footage shared with CBS 8 San Diego revealed how the pilot, identified as Landon Baldwin, reported that he was 'struggling right now' shortly after becoming airborne.
Air traffic control then attempted to get the jet to make an emergency landing on North Island Navy Station.
Tracking data shows Baldwin tried to turn the aircraft twice towards the US naval airport on Coronado Island but two minutes later, he issued a heartbreaking plea.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday," Baldwin is heard saying as air traffic control radioed back with a 'low altitude alert'.
The plane was reportedly just 1,000 feet above the water when the controller urged the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet, KTAR reports.
"Climb immediately," ground control said, before revealing contact was 'lost.'
Rescue crews were deployed to a debris field about five miles offshore, but did not recover any survivors.
The water in the area is around 200 feet deep, according to the Coast Guard.
Photographs on Baldwin's Facebook page show him posing next to the Cessna 414 as his family confirm he was an avid flyer with high hopes of making a career out of it, Fox 10 Phoenix reports.
It is believed his wife, Tori Baldwin, was also a passenger on it's fatal final journey. The young couple, both in their 20s, leave behind two children under five years old.
Four other Arizona natives were also on board - a Gila Valley father and his three adult sons, the identities of whom are yet to be formally confirmed.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane was a twin-engine Cessna 414 that was carrying six people and had successfully completed a trip to California just the day before.
The plane was reportedly owned by the company Optimal Health Services, before being sold to a private owner in 2023.
Doug Grant, the founder of the company, issued a statement about the incident on Monday (June 9), stating: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the accident near San Diego on June 8th, 2025, regarding a Cessna 414 aircraft, tail number N414BA.
"We personally know several of the passengers onboard, and our sincerest condolences are offered to those affected by the tragedy, all of whom are incredible members of our small community."
A witness who was surfing the water on Sunday afternoon also told NBC 7 that he heard the plane and thought it was doing stunts.
"I saw him come down at an angle. He wasn't flying straight to the ground," Tyson Wislofsky told the outlet. "The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water. But after I saw this splash, about six seconds later, it was dead silent.
"I knew that they went in the water, nose first, at a high speed."
The crash is now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.