Coast Guard suspends search for missing aircraft

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - 3:20 UPDATE- According to the Coast Guard, the active search for the missing aircraft has been suspended pending new information.

The United States Coast Guard confirms a plane has crashed off the coast of Wassaw Island. The Coast Guard identified the plane as a Cirrus SR22. The search area is about 20 miles southeast of Wassaw.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the single-engine plane crashed in the ocean around 9 a.m. and only the pilot was onboard.

An employee at the Barnwell airport in South Carolina said an SR22 was supposed to arrive around 9 a.m. from Lexington but never landed. The airport employee provided a tail number for that missing aircraft. Flight tracking websites show that SR22 took off from Lexington, flew over Barnwell and then went in a straight line for several miles before dropping from the sky into the ocean off Wassaw.

The FAA says the National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation into the crash.

A Coast Guard boat crew from Station Tybee and a helicopter from Air Station Savannah are searching for the missing plane. Good Samaritans are also joining the search.

The 165th Airlift Wing confirms the plane was not part of the Sentry Savannah military drills that have been taking off from Savannah and performing exercises along the coast this week.

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