Crew members missing days after medical plane crashes off Hawaii coast, officials say
Three crew members remain missing days after the medical plane they were on crashed off the coast of Maui, rescuers said.
The Coast Guard received a report about a downed Hawaii Life Flight around 9:10 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, about 16 miles south of Hana, a town on Maui, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.
Three crew members were on the Beechcraft King Air 90 aircraft when it disappeared, officials said. Their identities have not been released.
The U.S. Coast Guard found “a debris field” while searching for the missing plane, but it hasn’t been confirmed if it belongs to the medical plane, KITV and the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
The debris was found in the same area the plane went missing from, the FAA said.
Search efforts were called off on Sunday, Dec. 18, after rescue teams looked for nearly three days and conducted 28 searches, officials said.
Rescuers also covered over 4,732 square nautical miles in an attempt to find the missing crew.
“This is heartbreaking. It does not change our primary focus, which remains supporting and comforting loved ones and helping our family through this difficult time,” Global Medical Response, which operated the Hawaii Life Flight, said in a Facebook post.
This story was originally published December 19, 2022 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Crew members missing days after medical plane crashes off Hawaii coast, officials say."
