Three dead in plane crash off California coast

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - A small plane crashed just off the California coast, killing all three people onboard.

Witnesses described the final moments as federal investigators begin looking into what went wrong.

In the air and in the water, recovering teams worked Sunday morning, search

Officials say three people onboard a small aircraft were killed when it crashed just offshore in Pacific Grove near Asilomar State Beach late Saturday night.

"It really scared me," said Linda Decker, a Pacific Grove resident who saw the plane hit the water. "I watched it fly across the sky, and all of a sudden it just went straight down like at a 90-degree angle, boom into the water. It really shocked me. It was like out of control."

"We heard it make one pass, then we heard a second pass, you could hear the prop go up, then we heard a thump," said Ron Beach, another Pacific Grove resident.

"I was in my apartment, all of a sudden, I heard this loud roar, it sounded like smaller plan I thought they were buzzing our complex. I went towards downtown Pacific Grove, then looped back around the complex really loud," Decker shared.

Data from Flightradar24 shows the Beech 95-55 Baron Aircraft loop downtown Pacific Grove and a low altitude before crashing into the water just before 11:00 p.m. Saturday.

The flight taking off out of San Carlos, headed to the Monterey Regional Airport, crashing just before landing.

The aircraft owned by Sea2Sky Aviation LLC out of Dover. Delaware.

For now, the debris will remain on the beach as the NTSB starts its investigation.