Authorities said that four teenagers and four adults were returning from a hunting trip were aboard a small aircraft that crashed off North Carolina’s coast over the weekend.
All of the passengers were from North Carolina. Six passengers were from coastal Carteret County in North Carolina, which is a predominantly rural area that includes tourist spots and the southern edge the Outer Banks.
According to Carteret County Sheriff Asabuck, divers found the fuselage and cabin of the plane in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 3 miles (5 km) from shore. They also found it in 55 feet (17 m) of water.
Buck stated that crews were removing human remains and any other equipment that might help investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
Because the community is so tight-knit, the sheriff stated that the plane crashed and the recovery efforts were “tremendously difficult”.
Buck stated, “Half of my family’s down here.” “I know the people involved. “I know some of them very well.”
The sheriff’s office identified three adults aboard the plane: pilot Ernest Durwood Rawls (67), Jeffrey Worthington Rawls (28), Greenville; Stephanie Ann McInnis Fulcher (42), Sea Level; and Douglas Hunter Parks (45), Sea Level.
The teenagers were identified by Jonathan Kole McInnis (15), of Sea Level, Noah Lee Styron (15), of Cedar Island, Michael Daily Shepard (15), of Atlantic, and Jacob Nolan Taylor (16) of Atlantic.
Carteret County encompasses communities like Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach, as well as Cape Lookout National Seashore. Its iconic Outer Banks lighthouse tower is famous for its black-and white diamond pattern.
The county also includes Atlantic, a waterfront community with a population of approximately 500 and is located in Down East.
Kendra Lewis (29), organized a prayer vigil in the parking lot at a shuttered grocery shop on Tuesday night.
She said, “We’re just an older fishing community.” “We are used to working together and caring for one another.”
Lewis saw the four boys on the plane grow up.
She said, “They are the definition of Down East people.” “They hunted. They loved one another. They were just part of the community. We are all one big family.”
According to the school system, the teenagers attended East Carteret High School which has approximately 600 students.
School counselors, psychologists, and crisis team members arrived at school following Sunday’s crash. Students have started “telling each others great stories of beautiful memories,” Rob Jackson, the superintendent of county schools, said.
Jackson stated, “This is difficult for adults.” Jackson said, “Easier for adults who have grown up with friends who suddenly disappear.”
Charlie Snow, a close friend, stated that Ernest Rawls was his father and Jeff Rawls his son. Snow also said that Jeff Rawls was also a pilot.
Snow claimed that the elder Rawls was known as “Teen” because he had flown previously for Snow’s Outer Banks Airlines and that he and Rawls had also flown together. Snow, who is also an experienced pilot, stated that the elder Rawls was highly skilled and capable.
Snow stated that if anyone could escape from something, it would be possible. It makes me believe that whatever happened was catastrophic. It’s speculation, you know.
Snow stated that Ernest Rawls and Snow were brothers who were close friends for over 20 years.
Snow stated, “I don’t know any people in the world I love better than him.” He was a great man, a great pilot and a wonderful Christian man.
Snow claimed that Rawls was flying a plane owned by Parks, one the passengers. Parks was also accompanied by Fulcher, a female passenger. Snow claimed that Parks and Fulcher had taken the teens to a charity hunt.
FlightAware indicated that the plane would depart Hyde County Airport at 1.35 p.m. on Sunday. It also noted that the plane was last observed near Beaufort in Carteret County around 2 p.m.
Coast Guard reported that it received a report from a Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point airtraf controller about a possible downed plane approximately 4 miles (6 km) east of Drum Inlet. According to the air traffic controller, the aircraft was acting erratically on radar and then vanished from the screen.
According to an email sent by the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47 aircraft crashed around 18 miles (29 km) northeast Beaufort. The preliminary accident notification posted on the FAA website stated that the aircraft “crashed into the water under unknown circumstances.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating.
