After some human remains found, Coast Guard suspends search for passengers of downed plane
A search is underway for a crashed plane and several people who were on board as officials confirm the aircraft disappeared from a radar screen Sunday evening off the North Carolina coast.
Posted — Updated"Our primary mission has been to recover the passengers that were aboard the plane," he said.
In a statement, the Coast Guard said it had searched 2,014 square miles over 48 hours. The Coast Guard added that officials would continue to help with ongoing recovery operations.
Photos from before the crash posted to social media showed the group having a fun day out together.
Carteret County released the names of the 8 people on board the plane:
- Ernest Rawls, 67, pilot, of Greenville, NC
- Jeffrey Rawls, 28, pilot's son, of Greenville, NC
- Stephanie McInnis Fulcher, 42, of Sea Level, NC
- Jonathan Kole McInnis, 15, of Sea Level, NC
- Douglas Hunter Parks, 45, of Sea Level, NC
- Noah Lee Styron, 15, of Cedar Island, NC
- Michael Daily Shephard, 15, of Atlantic, NC
- Jacob Nolan Taylor, 16, of Atlantic, NC
Law enforcement is working with medical examiners to make positive identifications so remains can be turned over to family members so they can make plans for memorial and funeral services.
"And hopefully get closure," said Buck.
Secondarily, Buck said deputies hope to recover any equipment, such as transponders and flight data. They hope some equipment they've recovered can help the NTSB in their investigation of what happened to the plane in flight just prior to the crash.
Teams are still in the process of searching for the other seven people on the plane, but Buck said, "We have no indication that anyone survived the crash."
Officials say they have been in touch with the families of each of those who had been on board.
The debris field from the crashed plane was originally found around 3 to 4 miles off shore, but seems to have shifted around 10 to 15 miles off shore, according to Buck. He said there are now three separate debris fields to search.
Conditions have made the search difficult, say officials. The water is very deep, and the cold winds and choppy waves have made recovery efforts challenging.
According to officials, the Coast Guard got a report of a possible downed aircraft from an air traffic controller at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
The report noted the aircraft was behaving erratically on radar before disappearing from the radar screen.
Coast Guard officials say they have two boat crews out searching and an air crew from Elizabeth City.
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