U.S. and Canadian coast guard crews are suspending their search on Lake Erie for six people aboard a Cessna Citation 525 that disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff on Thursday evening.
The search which ended Friday evening will have covered more than 128 square miles of Lake Erie.
"The decision to suspend a search is never easy," said Capt. Michael Mullen, chief of response for the Coast Guard 9th District. "I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who lost loved ones during this tragedy."
The search spanned more than 20 hours and included Coast Guard crews aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, an HC-130 aircraft and the Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, as well as an aircrew aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130 from Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton, Ontario.
A news conference with more information will be held Saturday.
The cause of the disappearance is unknown.
The plane is registered to John T. Fleming, the CEO at Superior Beverage Group in Columbus. His father confirms Fleming was piloting the plane with his wife, two sons, a neighbour and a neighbour's daughter.
Authorities have "faint hints" but no strong pulse from an emergency locating transmitter, a beacon that could help find the plane carrying three children and three adults, said Capt. Michael Mullen, the chief of response for the Ninth Coast Guard District. The crews searching for the plane are in search-and-rescue mode, not recovery mode, as they ply waters that are about 50 feet deep, he said.
The Columbus-bound Cessna Citation 525 departed Burke Lakefront Airport late Thursday with six aboard and vanished from radar about two miles over the lake. Why remains unclear. Searchers have found no sign of debris.
Snow squalls, higher seas and darkness made nighttime searching difficult, Mullen said.
An aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and an aircrew from Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton, aboard a C-130, are searching for the missing people.
Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay from Detroit is also assisting in the search.
Weather in the area is reported as seas from 12-15 feet with winds around 30 knots. The depth of water in the search area is around 50 feet.
With files from The Associated Press.
