NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued one pilot and is searching for a second after the U.S. Navy T-34 plane they were aboard crash landed in Lake Pontchartrain, Saturday.
Watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District Command Center received a call at approximately 6:40 p.m. Saturday, from the Air Traffic Control at the Lake Front Airport stating that a U.S. Navy T-34 training plane was no longer visible on radar. The Coast Guard launched two small boats and crews from Coast Guard Station New Orleans and an MH-65C rescue helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans.
The Coast Guard is currently searching a 5-by-7-mile area, with the center of the search approximately 1 mile north of Lakefront Airport. Initial reports were that both pilots were clinging to the aircraft before it sank. Coast Guard crews have searched through the night.
Also searching are two small boats and crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Weather conditions at the time of the crash were: air temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit, water temperature 52 degrees Fahrenheit and the winds were calm.
