Coast Guard Hunt for Downed Plane off of Cape Cod Beach Expanding Monday Morning
A United States Coast Guard search for a downed plane off of Nauset Beach in Orleans was unable to locate the plane or pilot Sunday night, and is continuing into Monday with additional rescuers set to join the hunt, officials said.
The Coast Guard received a report from the Air Force around 10:30 p.m. Sunday of a plane with one person on board missing off of the popular Outer Cape beach, Coast Guard Petty Officer Noel Ryan said.
The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-28, was supposed to land at Chatham Municipal Airport two hours prior.
On Sunday night, the Coast Guard’s Chatham station launched a search in a 45-foot rescue boat, along with the Coast Guard cutter Spencer and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry — a twin-engine plane — from the Coast Guard’s Air Station Cape Cod. They were joined by the local harbormaster and other local authorities.
Rescuers from the Chatham station were unable to find the plane and returned home Sunday night, Ryan said, while the Spencer and Ocean Sentry continued the search throughout the night.
On Monday, the Chatham station will resume its search, with additional help, Ryan said. The Coast Guard cutter Sanibel is expected to join the search by 10 a.m.
Ryan said the Coast Guard was still trying to determine how much area rescuers were searching.
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