Dense Fog — San Francisco Peninsula Coast, California

2024-01-14 to 2024-01-15 · San Francisco Peninsula Coast, California

Event narrative

A small plane with four people onboard crashed near Moss Beach in San Mateo County, around 1 mile southwest of Half Moon Bay Airport, on January 14 at 7:34 PM. Witnesses saw the plane sputtering before the crash. Wreckage from the plane was found near Ross Cove. Search efforts for survivors continued until 11 AM the next day. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office stated that a commercial fishing boat discovered a woman's body in the water. The body was later identified to be connected to the crash.

Wider weather episode

A small plane with four people onboard crashed near Moss Beach in San Mateo County, around 1 mile southwest of Half Moon Bay Airport, on January 14 at 7:34 PM. Witnesses saw the plane sputtering before the crash. Wreckage from the plane was found near Ross Cove. Search efforts for survivors continued until 11 AM the next day. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office stated that a commercial fishing boat discovered a woman's body in the water. The body was later identified to be connected to the crash.

At the time of the accident, Half Moon Bay Airport reported scattered low ceilings and misty skies. The last observation before the incident reported scattered clouds at 300 feet and visibilities at 6 miles. Separate observations from the previous two hours reported broken clouds at 300 feet and visibilities of 2.5 miles.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1147721. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.