Coast Guard ends search for plane that crashed off Oregon coast
A twin-engine Beechcraft went down in the water near Newport, Oregon, on Monday with a single pilot aboard. The Coast Guard called off its search after 12 hours without finding the pilot or the wreckage.
The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search for a twin-engine airplane that went into the water off the Oregon coast on Monday. The pilot is still missing.
Authorities say the pilot, a 78-year-old man, was the only person on board. A hangar camera recorded the 1960 Beechcraft 95 Travel Air, registered N529RB, leaving Newport Municipal Airport at about 12:33 p.m. PDT.
According to authorities, flight tracking data showed the aircraft circling roughly half a mile offshore near Yaquina Head for several minutes before it dropped off radar. A local fisherman told a television station he saw the plane flying low, possibly 20 feet above the surface and at high speed, before it hit the water and sank quickly. He went to the impact area but could not locate the pilot.
The Coast Guard searched for 12 hours by boat and helicopter, covering 124 square miles. First responders and volunteers joined the effort. No trace of the pilot or the aircraft was found.
The plane is registered to Ralph Busby III of Newport, Oregon. An FAA preliminary notice described the aircraft as destroyed and the accident as presumed fatal. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Sources
- flyingmag.comSearch Suspended for Twin-Engine Plane, Pilot Off Oregon Coast