Search Called Off For Missing Pilot Off Cape May Point

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Coast Guard called off a search Wednesday evening for a missing pilot whose plane crashed in the ocean off Cape May Point. A bystander notified the Coast Guard of the incident at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, which was shortly after the plane crashed.

The pilot, who has not been identified, was the only person aboard the small plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane took off around 8 a.m. Wednesday from Trenton-Robbinsville Airport in Robbinsville, according to the FAA.

The FAA and state police are investigating the cause of the incident, the USCG said.

The search included efforts on the shore, air and sea. Federal, state and local agencies participated. Boats and aircraft saturate the surface as divers from the fire department and state police searched below the surface, the USCG said.

The Mooney M20J aircraft crashed in the water about 1,200 feet from the Cape May Lighthouse and is submerged in the ocean, the FAA said Wednesday. Read more: Plane Lands In Ocean Off Cape May Point; Rescue Underway

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