Tahoe Area Attorney, Wrecked Plane Recovered From Ocean Floor Off Southern California Coast

SANTA BARBARA (CBS13) — A plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean and its pilot, a Lake Tahoe area attorney, were recovered from the ocean floor off the Southern California coast, authorities said on Friday.

The wrecked plane was found about 180 feet below the surface off the coast of Campus Point after it crashed on Sunday, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities also recovered the body of the pilot, which was confirmed late Thursday as Tahoe area Attorney Deborah Nicholson, 61. Nicholson was the only person aboard the plane.

The plane – a Cessna 182 Skylane – reportedly lost communications with the Santa Barbara Airport tower and crashed shortly after taking off on a flight to Truckee, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office said its dive team was assisted in the recovery efforts that began on Monday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Port Police, U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service, Santa Barbara County Fire, and AMR.

A coroner's report is expected to be complete in about six weeks. The cause of the crash also remains under investigation.