The Coast Guard suspended its search Tuesday evening for two missing persons involved in a Cessna airplane crash 13 miles southeast of Bogue Inlet on the central North Carolina coast.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders were initially notified of the incident by Air Traffic Control Cherry Point that an aircraft reportedly dropped from their radar.
Watchstanders at Sector North Carolina dispatched MH-60 Jayhawk and C-130 Hercules aircrews from Air Station Elizabeth City, a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Station Emerald Isle, and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal to respond. Coast Guard personnel searched a combined total of 676.3 square miles over air, sea, and land.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the cause of the incident. The Coast Guard has suspended its search, pending the development of new information.