Coast Guard Calls Off Search for Plane Crash Victims
Wreckage of McKinney Plane Found Off Fla. Gulf Coast
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The Coast Guard is searching for five people who were in plane flying out of McKinney that went down off Florida's Gulf Coast.
The Coast Guard calling off the search Thursday afternoon for five people who were aboard a small plane that took off from Collin County Regional Airport Wednesday and later crashed off the Florida coast.
Five men were aboard the plane, which records indicate the plane is owned by Q4 Aviation/Quality Powder Coating in Carrollton.
A spokesman for the company confirmed its president, Roland Schurrer, and a company pilot, Steve Barrows, were killed in the crash.
A marketing representative for the company and two customers from Tampa were also on board, but the company did not release their names because their families had not been notified.
"Most, many of the management employees are family, so it's a family-owned, family-run business," said Andrew Brown, of Quality Powder. "So it was earth-shattering, obviously."
Late Wednesday, the Coast Guard reported finding wreckage of the aircraft.
"The Coast Guard has discovered a two-mile debris field within the search area," according to a Coast Guard statement released Wednesday evening.
Authorities said the twin-engine Cessna was flying from McKinney when it disappeared from radar about 20 miles west of Port Richey in the Gulf of Mexico.
The plane left McKinney en route to Tampa at about 10 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration said air traffic controllers in Jacksonville lost radio and radar contact with the plane at 1:52 p.m. after it reported encountering turbulence.
There was a storm in the area at the time.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Posted Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 - 8:28 PM CST
