The wreckage of an Arizona-bound airplane that disappeared after taking off from the Half Moon Bay Airport on Monday was found on a coastal bluff west of the airport this afternoon, a sheriff spokeswoman said.

The pilot was killed in the crash. The Half Moon Bay Review identified the pilot as Andrew Hayden, 75, of Florida.

The single-engine Aeropro CZ A240 appears to have crashed near Seal Cove shortly after departing for Marana, Arizona, at 5:50 a.m. Monday, San Mateo County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt said.

The wreckage was found by search-and-rescue crews just after noon, and investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are heading to the crash site, Rosenblatt said.

The pilot was reported missing by his wife on Monday evening after he failed to land on schedule in Arizona, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.

No passengers were believed to have been on board the plane.

The search effort was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and aided by the Civil Air Patrol and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

— Bay City News Service

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