MIAMI – The Coast Guard responded to a report of a downed aircraft with two people aboard, about100 miles east of Miami last night..
An HU-25 Falcon jet and an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter, both from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, were immediately launched to search for and rescue survivors.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration contacted Coast Guard District Seven search and rescue coordinators in Miami at approximately 5 p.m., reporting the loss of radar and radio contact with a twin-engine Cessna aircraft. According to FAA officials, the last known radar contact of the aircraft was about 100 miles east of Miami, near Chub Cay, Bahamas. A civilian aircraft pilot transiting the area contacted the FAA and reported seeing the Cessna go down and two people in the water.
At this time the Coast Guard has no further information about the plane, its passengers or the intended route.
