MOREHEAD CITY, NC – A small plane carrying eight people plunged into the sea off North Carolina’s Outer Banks and left behind much debris where crews were searching for missing passengers, the Coast Guard said. know.
Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck said a body has so far been found and identified. He declined to release the person’s name or details about others on board, including their ages, “out of respect for the family.”
“We have no indication of any survivors from the crash,” the sheriff said.
Search teams are still searching for the main body of the plane but have identified three pieces of debris moving away from the Atlantic coast, Buck said.
US Coast Guard Captain Matthew J. Baer told reporters that many ships from different agencies are continuing to search.
“We have a hands-on event going on here,” Baer said. “And we want the citizens of Carteret County and eastern North Carolina to know that your Coast Guard is out there doing their best alongside our partners.”
Buck said most of the family members of the plane’s passengers lived in Carteret, a coastal county of nearly 70,000 people. The county includes communities like Emerald Island and Atlantic Beach as well as Cape Lookout National Seashore and its iconic Outer Banks lighthouse, patterned with black and white diamonds.
“We have been in very close contact with family members,” the sheriff said.
The Coast Guard said in a press release that it had received a report of a possible downed plane about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Drum Inlet from an air traffic controller. Cherry Point of the Marines on Sunday. Air traffic controllers reported that the plane was erratic on radar, then disappeared from the screen.
According to an email from the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47 plunged into the water about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort, North Carolina, approximately 18 miles (29 km) northeast. 2 p.m. local time on Sunday. . A preliminary notice about the crash on the FAA’s website noted that the plane “died into the water under unspecified circumstances.”
FlightAware lists that plane’s departure from Hyde County Airport at 1:35 p.m. Sunday and notes that it was last seen near Beaufort at 2:01 p.m.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the passengers,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper tweeted Monday afternoon. “We are grateful to those in our state and local agencies who are supporting the efforts of the Coast Guard and other first responders.”
The search included boats and a helicopter from three Coast Guard stations, the local fire service and sheriff staff and National Park Service beach crews.
The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted Monday that it is investigating the crash.
