8 passengers, including 4 teens, believed dead in plane crash off North Carolina coast, officials say
A private plane carrying 8 passengers, including 4 teenagers, crashed off the coast of North Carolina Sunday afternoon, likely leaving no survivors, officials said.
The aircraft, a single-engine turboprop passenger plane, "was seen behaving erratically on radar and then disappeared from the radar screen," according to the Coast Guard. "We have no indication that anyone survived the crash," Carteret County Sheriff Ada Buck said at a news conference Monday.
The Carteret County Sheriff's office released the names of the eight passengers Tuesday, including four teenagers.
The passengers are the plane's pilot, 67-year-old Ernest Durwood Rawls; Jeffrey Worthington Rawls, 28; Stephanie Ann McInnis Fulcher, 42; Douglas Hunter Parks, 45; Jonathan Kole McInnis, 15; Noah Lee Styron, 15; Michael Daily Shepard, 15; and Jacob Nolan Taylor, 16.
Four students from East Carteret High School were passengers on the plane, said Jennifer Johnson, chief communications officer for Carteret County Public Schools, in a statement Tuesday.
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"The Carteret County Public School System was saddened by the confirmation from the Carteret County Sheriff’s office this afternoon of the tragedy that has deeply affected several schools in our system," Johnson said.
"School counselors, school psychologists, and school crisis team members have responded from across the school system to serve and support the students, staff, and families in the impacted schools," the statement continued.
The plane crashed around 2 p.m. Sunday, according to the sheriff. It departed from the fishing community of Englehard, North Carolina, and was headed toward Beaufort, North Carolina, before crashing about four miles east of Drum Inlet, a strait off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft crashed into the water approximately 18 miles northeast of Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort. A preliminary accident notification on the FAA’s website noted that the aircraft “crashed into water under unknown circumstances.”
Search crews found a debris field about three miles offshore after searching for plane wreckage throughout the night, the sheriff said. By morning, it had separated into three debris fields, which had been moving farther offshore into the Atlantic Ocean, Buck said.
“Our prayers and deep concerns go to the families and loved ones of the passengers,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter Monday. “We’re grateful for the people in our state and local agencies who are supporting the efforts of the Coast Guard and other first responders.”
Contributing: The Associated Press