CA searchers scour for survivors of midair crash

Investigators are trying to determine why a Coast Guard airplane on a nighttime search for a boater collided with one of four Marine Corps helicopters flying in formation to a military training island off Southern California.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the Thursday night crash occurred minutes after FAA controllers instructed the Coast Guard C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military air controllers.

The spokesman initially said there was a handoff from the FAA to the military controllers.

All seven people aboard the Coast Guard plane and the two-person crew of the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter remain missing Friday. The search is focused on a debris field 50 miles off the San Diego coast.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says that although the search continues, the collision likely killed the nine crew members.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Investigators are trying to determine why a Coast Guard airplane on a nighttime search for a boater collided with one of four Marine Corps helicopters flying in formation to a military training island off Southern Calfornia.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the Thursday night crash occurred minutes after control of the Coast Guard C-130 was handed off from FAA controllers to military air controllers.

All seven people aboard the Coast Guard plane and the two-person crew of the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter remain missing Friday. The search is focused on a debris field 50 miles off the San Diego coast.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says that although the search continues, the collision likely killed the nine crew members.

© 2009 The Associated Press.