Monday, August 01, 2011

Piper PA28-140, N4533R: US Coast Guard seeking missing airplane near Venice, Louisiana.

The Coast Guard is searching the Gulf of Mexico off the Plaquemines Parish coast for private airplane that dropped out of radar contact this morning.

The single-engine Piper PA28 departed Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores, Ala., about 7 a.m., and the Federal Aviation Administration lost contact about 11 a.m., according to the Coast Guard.

The area is about 40 miles southeast of Venice, according to the Coast Guard.

The FAA asked the Coast Guard's 8th District to investigate after FAA air traffic controllers in Houston noted the airplane dropped 600 feet in three minutes and then lost radar contact.

The Coast Guard found no sign of debris in the vicinity of the aircraft's last known position, the agency said in a statement.

The Coast Guard dispatched an airplane from Mobile, a helicopter from Air Station, New Orleans, and a cutter to search a 2,500-square-mile area.

The agency did not identify the aircraft's destination or provide the number of people on board.

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