Although official announcements are still forthcoming, it is clear that Gary D. Gierczak, 53, was the pilot of one of the two planes which collided off Long Beach on Monday. The mid-air crash between a single engine Cessna 172 and the twin engine Cessna 310 which was piloted by Gierczak, was reported by another pilot who saw the accident Monday afternoon. The Coast Guard called off the search for survivors on Tuesday.

The Cessna 310 is registered to Gary and Lizanne Gierczak, who live on Pine St. in Los Alamitos. Various media outlets have reported that Mr. and Mrs. Gierczak had been married for 30 years. The couple have two children; Ross, 22, and Jennelle, 23. Mr. Gierczak was an engineer at Boeing in Huntington Beach.

After the Coast Guard cancelled the rescue operation on Tuesday, authority shifted to other agencies. Although the FAA is involved, the investigation into the cause is with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The lead investigator indicated it generally takes between 6 months and one year to officially determine the cause of a crash.

Responsibility for the recovery operation is now with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department. Your Editors spoke with Sergeant Ewell late Wednesday afternoon about the recovery operation. Ewell, who had recently surfaced from diving at the site, is in charge of the recovery and is one of the divers who investigated the crash site.

Ewell reported that they found debris on the ocean floor at a depth of 80 feet. The wreckage was near the location where the witness spotted the impact on the ocean surface. The point of impact was also confirmed by radar by the FAA. Ewell said they were only able to positively identify, by tail number, the Cessna 172. He did not find any large enough sections of the planes to be able to confirm identification of the Cessna 310P.

Ewell said the debris was broken into small pieces with a fuselage section about two feet long being the largest portion located. He said the planes would have broken up first from the mid-air collision and then again when the aircraft hit the water. He said the mid-air crash was at an altitude of about 3,000 feet and hitting the water from that height would be "like hitting solid concrete."

The divers took videos of the debris and will review the footage Thursday to determine if parts from the larger plane can be identified. They will continue searching with sonar Thursday and will resume dive operations on Friday. Ewell said at this point in the search, no bodies or human remains have been located.

The Gierczak's plane, built in 1969 was a CESSNA 310P. The plane had 6 seats and a speed of 167 mph.

Your Editors send our condolences and prayers for the family and friends of Gary D. Gierczak.bb