Body Found In Plane Debris; Baltimore Residents Missing

OCEAN CITY, MD — A man's body was found in the wreckage of a small airplane off the coast of Ocean City, and authorities say the victim is likely the pilot of a small airplane missing from a Baltimore airport. Two people were reported missing Thursday morning, which started a search that spotted debris in the water. Crews from the Baltimore branch of the Coast Guard, Maryland State Police and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police searched for the victims after pieces of the aircraft were found in the water near Ocean City Inlet.

The Coast Guard says the two missing persons are Banica Richard Robinson and Marcson Ngwa. A search began about 10 a.m. Thursday when their Cessna 172 didn’t return to Martin State Airport as expected and was not transmitting its location beacon. They left Baltimore about 5:30 p.m. and were last seen practicing touch-and-go landings at the Ocean City Municipal Airport Wednesday night, authorities said.

Rescuers said the body recovered was that of a man wearing the same clothing the plane's pilot wore. The body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for autopsy.

Maryland State Police have not identified the pilot or passenger. Search efforts ended about 6 p.m. Thursday, but dive teams will resume searching for the other victim once the storm passes and the ocean conditions permit.

A Natural Resources Police helicopter crew located an oil sheen off Ocean City about 11:30 a.m. Thursday and the Coast Guard was called to take over coordination of the search. A mariner, Natural Resources Police boat and Coast Guard boat crews found airplane debris near the sheen.

Authorities say the airplane may have crashed in the water near the north end of Assateague State Park. The tail number of the missing plane is registered to Middle River Aviation, a flight school in Baltimore, Delmarva Now reports.

The crew of Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 4 and Civil Air Patrol personnel have located what is described as an oil slick in the ocean, about 1.5 miles from the Ocean City Airport. Rescue personnel are focusing their search on that area, state police said late Thursday afternoon. Although the aircraft has not been spotted, Natural Resources Police officers in the water near the oil slick have recovered debris believed to be from an aircraft.

A command center has been established at the Maryland Natural Resources Police Boathouse on Harbor Road in West Ocean City.

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