Search continues on Monday for downed aircraft near Drum Inlet, N.C.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities are continuing their search efforts on Monday after a report of a downed aircraft in the ocean off the Cape Lookout National Seashore on Sunday, Feb 13.

A total of eight people have been confirmed to have been aboard the Pilatus PC-12 single-engine passenger aircraft, per the U.S. Coast Guard. The aircraft went down approximately 4 miles east of Drum Inlet, N.C., on Sunday afternoon.

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.

According to recent reports, the aircraft has still not found, but local fishermen discovered an oil slick during search efforts on Sunday night. The investigation is ongoing, and the Island Free Press will post updates as soon as they become available.