Coast Guard authorities spent much of Saturday searching for a small plane that apparently dove into the ocean during a business trip from Puerto Rico to St. Croix.
The unidentified pilot was employed by an aviation company based at the Isla Grande Airport in San Juan. The Cessna 402 was reported missing at 5:20 a.m. after it fell off radar about five miles off the southeastern coast of Vieques.
Navy and Coast Guard helicopters were involved in the search as was a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and a Falcon jet, a government spokesman said Saturday afternoon.
According to a Coast Guard spokesman, the plane was en route with a mail shipment from Puerto Rico to St. Croix when it began a rapid descent into the ocean.
Radar images revealed that the aircraft went down fast. "It did not show much of a glide pattern, it was descending rapidly," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Caravella.
It was last seen on radar at about 1,900 feet.
The aircraft was flying at 4,000 feet after its takeoff from Puerto Rico.
