Cellphone video could solve case of missing SoCal plane

VAN NUYS, Calif. (KABC) -- In an Eyewitness News exclusive, new video emerged Tuesday that could unlock key information about a small plane that simply vanished and never landed in Van Nuys.

Cellphone video captured what appeared to be a small plane flying very close to the beach on Saturday.

Hermosa Beach resident Dave Garcia captured the video while on the beach with his buddies.

"It was a kind of a scary moment to see a plane in that kind of descent, you know, just going down the beach," Garcia said. "We kind of looked at each other and said, 'Did the plane go down? We couldn't tell."

On Tuesday, Garcia was on the ABC7 Facebook page, and saw the story of Edmond Haronian, who flew to Catalina Island on Saturday with his flight instructor from the Encore Flight Academy in Van Nuys.

Haronian's family said he texted them that he took off from Catalina, but he hasn't been heard from since.

Garcia wondered if he captured video of Haronian's plane and notified local stations.

After seeing the video, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department launched a search effort near the Palos Verdes/Torrance coast.

Unfortunately, they didn't find any oil slick or signs of the missing plane.