'Small Debris Field' Found In Search For Missing Plane

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — As the U.S. Coast Guard continues its search for a small plane reported missing on Sunday and the three people who were on board, officials have announced the discovery of an aircraft seat and a small debris field. The missing plane and the people have not yet been found.

According to the Coast Guard, Jasper Jerrels, 65, Hue Singletary, 60, and Jerrels' 17-year-old son took off from Brooksville on Sunday, Feb. 12, bound for Cedar Key. When the white plane with red and blue stripes didn't arrive at Cedar Key by noon, officials began to become concerned.

Watch standers from Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg were notified about the missing single-engine plane around 5:21 p.m. Sunday. That notification led to deployment of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Clearwater and a search-and-rescue boat from Station Yankeetown.

“The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center reported the last known radar contact from the aircraft, which occurred at 11:06 a.m. when the plane was approximately seven miles south of Cedar Key,” the guard wrote in a media release. The pilot did not file a fight plan, the guard noted.

On Monday morning, the coast guard said fog hampered the search in the late-night and early morning hours. By 9:06 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission marine unit had located an aircraft seat in the search area that matches the description of the missing plane's interior, an email from the coast guard said. Search-and-rescue crews also located a small debris field.

The plane, however, has not been found.

The Coast Guard and partner agencies had conducted seven searches by Monday afternoon, covering more than 147 square nautical miles. The search remains active with no further information available at this time.

Photo of the missing plane courtesy of Loet Kupiers via the U.S. Coast Gaurd