UPDATE (9/7/17 9:10 p.m.):
The search for a missing plane has ended Thursday evening, according to the West Virginia Civil Air Patrol.
Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny said around 2 p.m. crews located a crash site around 3 air miles inside Wetzel County near the Jacksonburg community.
According to the Civil Air Patrol, the two people on the airplane did not survive the crash.
“A total of 48 members of the WV Wing Civil Air Patrol supported the search effort to find the overdue aircraft which was located today in Wetzel County. Three search aircraft performed aerial searches and four ground teams also participated. As volunteers who provide professional service when called upon, our members always stand ready to perform search and rescue activities when needed,” said Col Paul McCroskey, Wing Commander, Civil Air Patrol West Virginia Wing.
At this time authorities cannot confirm that the private plane from Illinois was the plane in the Wetzel County crash.
The plane’s last radar coordinates helped crews located the wreckage.
“On the side of a mountain. It was very remote, it was a very dense area, very difficult to get there, very thick underbrush”, said Connie Thomaschek, assistant chief of Harrison County 911.
The National Transportation Safety Board will arrive tomorrow morning to conduct an investigation.
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – Authorities are searching for a small plane that went off the radar while flying over West Virginia.
The Federal Aviation Administration says two people were on board the Cirrus SR20 when it went missing Tuesday. The agency hasn’t identified the passengers or the owners of the plane, but says the plane is presumed to have crashed.
The FAA says the plane went off the radar between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Central Regional Airport in Clarksburg. The FAA notified law enforcement officials in northwest West Virginia on Wednesday morning.
The search was ongoing Thursday. FAA officials and West Virginia State Police have also been searching the area.
The plane took off from Georgetown, Delaware, on Tuesday. It was destined for Fleming-Mason Airport in Flemingsburg, Kentucky.
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