Pilot made 'erratic maneuvers' before small plane crashed off San Diego coast, report says

USA Today

10-07-2025

PHOENIX — A pilot made "a series of erratic maneuvers" before a small plane crashed off the coast of San Diego last month, killing six people, a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report said.
The twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed around 12:30 p.m. on June 8, a few miles west of Point Loma, one of the oldest seaside communities in San Diego. The Joint Operations Center, a joint command center for state and federal maritime operations, received the initial report about 15 minutes after the crash.
The crash killed Jeremy Bingham and his three adult sons — Ayden Bingham, Bailey Bingham, and Gavin Bingham — along with the pilot, Landon Baldwin, and his wife, Torrie Baldwin. The plane had flown to San Diego from Phoenix the day before and headed back to Phoenix when the crash occurred.
Shaffen Woods, a friend of Jeremy Bingham and former football coach of Ayden, previously told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the San Diego trip was part of an excursion the Bingham family, from Thatcher, Arizona, often took to create new memories.
Report: Pilot struggled to increase, maintain altitude before crash
The plane took off from San Diego and climbed to 1,600 feet when the air traffic controller instructed Baldwin to make a 180-degree turn to the left, the report said.
The plane made a gradual turn as it reached 2,000 feet before it made a "steep descent" to 200 feet, prompting the air traffic controller to issue a low altitude alert and instruct Baldwin to reach an altitude of 4,000 feet immediately, the report said.
Baldwin repeated back the air traffic controller's instructions, and the controller asked Baldwin if he needed any assistance and about the nature of the issue he was experiencing, the report said. Baldwin said he was "struggling" to maintain the plane on a heading and climb.
The air traffic controller told Baldwin the nearest airport was 1 mile away and asked if he could see it, to which Baldwin replied that he couldn't, the report said. Baldwin then made "a series of erratic maneuvers" before making several Mayday calls, according to the report.
A police helicopter responded to the suspected crash site after receiving a request to search for any signs of a plane crashing into the water, the report said. The helicopter's pilot said in a post-accident interview that he found an oil slick about 2 miles offshore, according to the report.
The plane's regular pilot, a friend of Baldwin, said that he had flown about 50 hours with Baldwin in the Cessna 414A and that Baldwin had flown alone to Springerville, Arizona, two days before the crash. The unnamed friend acted as a safety pilot and recalled that Baldwin was used to flying with his hands, the report said.
The plane lacked an autopilot and a glass cockpit, the report added.
The friend also said Baldwin "expressed some nervousness about the busy Southern California airspace," but appeared to be capable during their review of the San Diego departure procedure. The report did not include a suspected cause behind the fatal crash.
The plane and the bodies of those on board have not been found, as of July 8.
Contributing: Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY