RALEIGH, N.C. — The Latest on a small plane crash in North Carolina (all times local):
1 p.m.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says two people have died in the crash of a small plane near a North Carolina airport.
Sgt. Michael Baker reported the deaths at a news briefing Monday. The identities of the victims weren’t immediately released.
The plane disappeared from radar Sunday night as it approached Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the wreckage was discovered Monday near a trail at William B. Umstead State Park.
Rescuers from at least a dozen state and local agencies spent the night searching in and around the park, a 5,600-acre (2,260-hectare) wooded expanse bounded by an interstate, the airport and a state highway. The park remained closed Monday, and people were asked to avoid the area while authorities secured the crash site.
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10:45 a.m.
Authorities say they’ve found wreckage during a search for a small plane that disappeared near a busy North Carolina airport.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials issued a statement Monday saying ground crews located what they believe is the aircraft that went missing Sunday night while approaching one of the airport runways. They offered no other details about who may have been aboard.
Searchers spent the night combing a densely wooded state park near the airport and deployed drones and helicopters.
The Federal Aviation Administration says radar lost track of the small plane Sunday night as it approached the smallest of three runways at the airport. Air operations were halted for about 20 minutes as authorities rushed to the wooded area, but the plane couldn’t immediately be located.
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10:30 a.m.
Authorities are deploying drones over a densely wooded state park as they search for a plane that disappeared near a busy North Carolina airport.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials issued a statement Monday that they were launching drones from a landing strip that runs perpendicular to the main runway. They said the primary runway remains open and the drones won’t affect commercial flights.
Airport officials say they’ve narrowed the search within Umstead State Park but didn’t say more about the location being scrutinized.
The Federal Aviation Administration says radar lost track of the small plane Sunday night as it approached the smallest of three runways at the airport. Air operations were halted for about 20 minutes as authorities rushed to the wooded area, but the plane couldn’t immediately be located.
The Associated Press
