8 Missing In Plane Crash Off North Carolina Coast: Coast Guard

CARTERET COUNTY, NC — The Coast Guard is searching for a plane and its eight passengers after it crashed off the coast of North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, according to a release from the Coast Guard.

Officials say the plane crashed into the water approximately 4 miles east of Drum Inlet at 2 p.m. Sunday and appeared on radar to have been "behaving erratically" prior to the crash.

The plane was a Pilatus PC-12 single engine passenger aircraft, officials said.

Search crews on boats were launched from Coast Guard stations on Hatteras Inlet and Fort Macon, and a helicopter from Elizabeth City and a Coast Guard Sentinel-class cutter, the USGCG Rollin Fritch, also are part of the search. Other agencies assisting the search for the plane include the Carteret County Sheriff's Office, Down East Fire Department, National Park Service and Towboat U.S., according to the release.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the plane crash, an NTSB spokesperson confirmed to Patch.