Coast Guard suspends search for missing plane off Cape Cod

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a plane that went missing, and may have gone down off Nauset Beach late Sunday night.

It was around 10:34 p.m. Sunday that the Coast Guard received a report from the Air Force Regional Command Center regarding a “possible downed, white and beige, Piper 28 aircraft four miles east of Sampson Island,” the Coast Guard said in a press release.

A search began and until the suspension at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, it covered over 2,076 miles and lasted 55 hours, according to the release.

The plane had left from Reading, Pennsylvania and was supposed to land at Chatham Municipal Airport. The pilot was the only one on board; their identity has not been publicly released.

A friend who had been waiting for it to land reported the plane missing.

The last transmission from the plane was around 6:49 p.m. At that time, it was said to be descending at 4,000 feet per minute. No trace of the plane was found during the search.

The search included six Coast Guard crews, including multiple cutters, a plane, a 45-foot response boat, and a helicopter. The harbormasters in Chatham, Harwich and Orleans also helped, along with two other “local assets,” officials said.

Anyone who may know what happened is asked to call the Sector Southeastern New England at 508-457-3211.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.

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