Coast Guard searches for missing plane off Cape Cod coast

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ORLEANS, Mass. (AP) — The Coast Guard and other authorities were searching off the coast of Cape Cod on Monday for a small plane that failed to arrive in Massachusetts as scheduled Sunday night, officials said.

The Piper PA-28 that departed from Reading, Pennsylvania was reported missing at around 10 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement. It was headed to Chatham Municipal Airport in Massachusetts.

One person was on board the plane, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.

The original call was made to the Air Force Regional Command Center by a concerned friend who was waiting for the aircraft in Chatham. The Air Force then contacted the Coast Guard.

The aircraft’s last transmitted transponder signal was at 6:49 p.m. descending at 4,000 feet per minute.

The search taking place off Nauset Beach in Orleans involved a Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter, three Coast Guard vessels, as well as area harbormasters and other assets, the Coast Guard said.

No information about the plane's occupant was released.