Coast Guard, partner agencies continue search for missing pilot

SEATTLE — The Coast Guard and partner agencies continue the search for a missing man who was flying from Alaska to Washington State Tuesday evening.

The man took off mid-day in his Cessna 170A from Ketchikan, Alaska, with the intended destination of Port Angeles.

A mayday call from the man was relayed to Coast Guard units in Seattle shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday night. Search and rescue efforts were immediately started after the report.

Before the single-engine airplane went down, the pilot described land formations he could see and ships that were in the area. The Coast Guard built a search area based upon that information. Most of the search has consisted of the waters north and northwest of Port Angeles, up to the international boundary line.

Crews and assets assisting in the search:

• Coast Guard Cutter Adelie and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
• Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
• Station Port Angeles 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and crew;
• Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew;
• HH-60 Seahawk helicopter crew from U.S. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island;
• Canadian Coast Guard cutter Sir Wilfred Laurier and crew;
• Royal Canadian Air Force CC-115 Buffalo and crew;
• Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant and crew;
• Good Samaritan vessel crews.

The weather on scene is reported at 25-mph winds, seas 6 to 8-feet and water temperature of 46 degrees Fahrenheit.