2 die in small plane crash in Pacific off Half Moon Bay

HALF MOON BAY -- Two people were killed Saturday afternoon after a twin-engine plane plunged into the Pacific Ocean about 40 miles west of Half Moon Bay.

The turboprop plane, a Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter, went down about 2:15 p.m., said Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA. The pilot made a distress call shortly before it disappeared from radar screens.

The aircraft was flying from Santa Rosa to Honolulu. The U.S. Coast Guard found the submerged plane "and confirmed the pilot and copilot suffered fatal injuries," the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

The DHC-6-400 Twin Otter is a utility aircraft that seats 19 passengers, according to the Viking Air website.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent out broadcast an alert at 1:40 p.m. of a "small plane in distress" southwest of the Farallon Islands. Mariners in the vicinity to be on the lookout for people in a yellow life raft. 

According to Petty Officer Matthew West, when a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter reached the location, the crew found the plane upside down in the water, its occupants still inside.  

U.S. Coast Guard Lt.j.g. Jillian Stuckey added that the pilot and co-pilot reported their plane had only about 15 minutes of fuel left and were preparing to ditch into the water.

Crews are working to recover the plane. FAA records show it was registered to a trust managed by the Bank of Utah.

The NTSB and the FAA Administration will investigate.