HOULTON, Maine — The wreckage of a small plane that had gone missing early Thursday morning was found just before 9 a.m. in Houlton, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The plane was located off the White Settlement Road in a small pond, McCausland said. There was no word on the condition of the occupant.
Multiple state and local agencies were involved in a ground and air search in southern Aroostook County on Thursday morning for the missing aircraft.
The plane, a twin-engine Piper PA44, was due at the Houlton International Airport around 1 a.m. Thursday, traveling from Goose Bay, Labrador, to Florida, according to Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna.
Officials with U.S. Border and Customs Protection were at the airport to meet the plane as it entered the country and reported that it was an hour overdue, McKenna said Thursday morning.
At 2 a.m. the customs officials reported hearing the plane approach the airport on its designated flight path from the south. Soon after, they reported hearing what sounded like the engines failing and a crashing sound.
McKenna said there was “zero visibility” at the time because of fog conditions, and a search was started immediately off the runway.
The plane’s last known contact with ground officials was with Boston, who confirmed the pilot was on his final approach into Houlton about 4½ miles south of the runway, McKenna said.
McKenna said as far as he knows, the pilot was the only one on board the four-person aircraft.
Personnel with the Houlton Police Department, Maine State Police, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine Forest Service and border patrol were involved searching the area, which Mckenna described as mixed woodland, swamp and mountains.
Because the flight path followed the border with New Brunswick, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police also were involved in the search, McKenna said.
