Plane with 2 on Board Crashes into English Channel

On Saturday morning, a private Piper PA-28 plane flying from the United Kingdom to the French resort of Le Touquet crashed into the English Channel, killing two British people on board.

Rescuers are still looking for the missing.

A spokesman for the French emergency services was quoted in UK media as saying, "The British Coastguard initiated an operation supported by French planes and at least one boat rented by the French Navy.

'It crashed into British waters for an unknown reason,' said a spokesman for the French emergency services.

'British Coastguard launched an operation supported by French aircraft and boats including the Abeille-Languedoc (Languedoc Bee) tug, which has been chartered by the French Navy.'

The missing plane took off from Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon, on Saturday morning, said a spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture in France.

He spoke as the wide-ranging search was suspended overnight Saturday, as rescuers said it would resume at first light on Sunday.

'The plane was travelling from Wellesbourne to Le Touquet, with two people on board, before it disappeared off radars,' said the Prefecture spokesman.

Publicly available flight records showed that a privately owned Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow II, registration number EGVA left Wellesbourne at 7.56am on Saturday and appeared to go off radar over the Channel at 09.02am.

It has been due to land at Le Touquet, France, but failed to arrive.

The single engine plane is 46 years old – it was built in 1976 – and has four seats.

Another investigating source in France said the two people on board were British nationals.

As well as the Abeille Languedoc, the major search involved a French Navy Falcon 50 jet and a Dauphin helicopter.

Ships in the Channel were also alerted to the disappearance, but by nightfall there was no sign of the plane, or any debris.

'The search continued all afternoon, without being able to locate any debris or aircraft wreckage,' said the Prefecture spokesman.

He added: 'At the beginning of Saturday evening, without additional elements and the probable sector of disappearance having been fully investigated, the searches were suspended.

'They will resume tomorrow morning with a flight by the Dauphin helicopter'.