A plane reportedly carrying six people -- three adults and three children -- vanished last night while flying over Lake Erie. The twin-engine Cessna Citation 525 took off from Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland at 10:57 PM on Thursday night. At around 11:30 PM, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified by air traffic control that the plane had disappeared from its radar. At the time, the plane had been flying over Lake Erie for about two miles. The passengers had reportedly attended a Cavaliers game and were headed to the Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
The U.S. Coast Guard as well as the Canadian Coast Guard are now searching for the plane in Lake Erie, focusing on an area about two miles offshore. The search has been made especially difficult due to weather conditions on the lake, such as waves of up to 14 feet, strong winds, and snow flurries, reports NBC News. The depth of the water in the search area is around 50 feet, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.
The identities of those onboard have not yet been made public.