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Coast guard vessels and military aircraft from Canada and the United States are searching the waters between Victoria and Port Angeles Tuesday evening for a downed aircraft with one person on board.
Just before 5 p.m., the pilot of the Cessna single engine aircraft sent a mayday call while over the Strait of Juan de Fuca saying he was in distress, said Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, a spokesperson for U.S. Coast Guard District 13 which covers the Pacific Northwest.
Victoria’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre was contacted and provided a Canadian Coast Guard vessel, helicopter and aircraft out of 19 Wing Comox to assist with the search. The U.S. Coast Guard also has crews searching from the water and from the air.
The search area is focused on a large swatch of water straddling the Canada-U.S. border, northeast of Port Angeles and south of Victoria.
The pilot was unsure of his location but he told the dispatcher he could see a large freighter in the water, Strohmaier said.
“There were several vessels in the area so we’re trying to work backward to figure out where he could have been,” he said. As of 7:15 p.m., there was still no sign of the pilot or the aircraft, Strohmaier said.
The pilot left from Ketchikan, Alaska but his final destination is unclear, Strohmaier said.
kderosa@timescolonist.com