One body found from plane crash; Search continues for seven other passengers

The body of one of the eight people aboard a plane that went down near Drum Inlet on Sunday, Feb. 13, has been found and identified, and the search continues for the seven remaining passengers, per a Monday update from Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck and U.S. Coast Guard officials.

It was confirmed that there were eight passengers on board the Pilatus PC-12 plane that originally took off from Engelhard before going down. The group was on their way to Beaufort, N.C., after a waterfowl hunting trip over the weekend in Hyde County.

“We have no indication that anyone survived the crash,” said Sheriff Asa Buck at a news conference on Monday afternoon. Multiple media outlets and social media posts have indicated that the passengers included four teenagers from Carteret County.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center received a report of a possible downed aircraft from an air traffic controller at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point at about 2:00 p.m on Sunday, stating that the aircraft was seen behaving erratically on radar, and then disappeared from the radar screen.

A Coast Guard Station Fort Macon Motor Lifeboat crew was launched on Sunday along with a Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet Response Boat-Small boat crew. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Elizabeth City was also launched to search the area.

Also involved in the search are the Coast Guard Cutter Rollin Fritc, National Park Service beach crews, Towboat U.S., Carteret County Sheriffs Office, and the Down East Fire Department.

The Island Free Press will post updates as soon as they become available.