Pilot missing after planes collide over northern California bay

The Coast Guard and members of the California Highway Patrol were searching for a missing pilot late Sunday after two planes on their way home from an air show collided over San Pablo Bay.

According to KTVU-TV, the collision was reported at 4:10 p.m. local time Sunday. Officials told the station that a single engine Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20 collided with a single-engine Cessna 210. The Cessna plane subsequently crashed into the water, while the Hawker landed safely at Eagle's Nest airport in the small city of Ione, Calif. about 40 minutes later.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Loumania Stewart told the Associated Press that debris was found in the bay, but there was no sign of the Cessna's pilot.

Amador County firefighters and medics sent to the Ione airport were not needed because the pilot and passenger in the Sea Fury -- a husband and wife -- were not injured, the county's Undersheriff Jim Wegner said.

Both planes had departed from Eagle's Nest Airport to participate in the Pacific Coast Dream Machines, an annual festival in Half Moon Bay that features a variety of planes, motorcycles, and cars. Both planes left Half Moon Bay Airport, about 20 miles south of San Francisco, and were on their return flight to Ione.

Witnesses at Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Cessna spiraled out of control and crashed into the choppy water after the collision.

'Everyone associated with the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show is terribly saddened by this news and we hope and pray the missing plane and survivors are found,' the event organizers said in a statement.

Wegner wouldn't discuss damage to the Sea Fury, citing the ongoing investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

FAA records indicate the Sea Fury, a vintage British fighter plane, is registered to Sanders Aeronautics Inc. in Ione. A man who answered the phone at the company's listed number declined to comment.

Sanders Aeronautics' website said the family-run company specializes in aircraft restoration and brothers Dennis and Brian Sanders are avid air racers.

news3blog.blogspot.com contributed to this report. Click for more from KTVU.com