Light plane
disappears off Maui
The Coast Guard and the Hawaii Air National Guard were searching for a single engine plane with one person on board that apparently went into the ocean off Maui last night, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department said.
The pilot radioed that he had engine trouble at about 9 p.m. The plane dropped in altitude and hadn't been heard from since, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Brooksann Anderson.
Two National Guard F-15 jets, a Coast Guard C-130 airplane and HH-65 Dolphin helicopter were dispatched to the plane's last reported position at about 150 miles northeast of Kahului Airport.
Two Coast Guard cutters were also heading to the location.
The plane was a Cozy Canard Pusher, Anderson said. According to aviation Web sites, the Canard is a rear-engined plane built of composite materials. It's sold as a kit to be assembled by the purchaser.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was headed to Maui, but she had no information about its origin.
