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2 dead after small plane traveling to Hawaii crashes off California coast

May 21 (UPI) -- A small plane that was allegedly traveling to Hawaii crashed off the coast of California, killing two people.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement on Twitter on Saturday that the agency was investigating a crash of a Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter in the Pacific Ocean, about 40 miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay.

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Flight data reported by The Mercury News shows that the plane departed from Santa Rosa-Sonoma County airport around 8 a.m. and flew southwest for two hours toward Honolulu before turning as the pilot declared a mayday.

It was not immediately clear if the plane intended to reach Honolulu, located more than 2,393 miles from the airport.

Technical specifications for the Twin Otter show that it has a max flight range of about 1,127 miles, less than half the distance to Hawaii, if the plane had long-range tankage.

The U.S. Coast Guard located the plane submerged about 40 miles from San Francisco with both the pilot and co-pilot dead, The Mercury News reported. There were no passengers onboard.

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