NEW YORK — One person was still missing on Sunday after a small aircraft with four New York men on board made a forced landing in Long Island Sound, less than a mile offshore near Setauket, New York, authorities said.
Austricio Ramirez, 25, a student pilot from the Bronx, was flying a Piper PA 28 when the plane developed mechanical problems on Saturday night, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Ramirez turned the controls over to the instructor pilot, Nelson Gomez, 36, of Queens, who landed the aircraft in Setauket Harbor, about 60 miles east of midtown Manhattan, at about 11:05 p.m..
Ramirez, Gomez and passenger Wady Perez, 25, of Queens were able to get out of the plane and were rescued by Suffolk County police officers, the department said.
A fourth man, Gerson Salmon-Negron, 23, of Queens exited the plane but remained missing on Sunday, according to the department.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search, but divers and rescue workers continued looking for Salmon-Negron on Sunday afternoon, according to a Suffolk County Police Department spokeswoman.
The other three men were taken to the hospital for treatment and released, authorities said.
The FAA is investigating the incident, and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause, an FAA spokeswoman said.