A combined sea and air search got underway off northwest England on Saturday after a small plane with two people aboard disappeared from radar near Blackpool.
Controllers at the coastal town lost the Piper PA-28's signal at 5:18 pm local time. A Lancashire Police spokesman said the aircraft had come down, while a Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman noted that no sightings or wreckage had been reported.
Three lifeboats, from Blackpool, Fleetwood, and Lytham St Annes, were sent to the area. A Royal Air Force helicopter from RAF Valley in north Wales joined the operation, as did two coastguard shore teams. Police took part because the site was just offshore, near the Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park.
Visibility was described as reasonable at the time of the search. Where the aircraft had departed from and where it was bound remained unknown.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in February 2007, in its own words.