The U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities are responding to a report of a downed aircraft in the ocean off the Cape Lookout National Seashore, approximately 4 miles east of Drum Inlet, on Sunday, Feb 13.
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 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.
The Coast Guard Cutter Rollin Fritch, local fire departments, and national park service beach crews are also assisting with response efforts. Per Carteret County law enforcement officials, the aircraft involved is a small, private PC-12 plane, and it is believed that eight people, including the pilot, were in the aircraft at the time of the incident.
As of 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, it is not known if anyone has been harmed as a result of the crash, and the search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
