Four Feared Dead In Plane Crash Off Amagansett

Two bodies have been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett, where a twin-engine Piper 31 PA Navajo plane crashed on Saturday, June 2, during a brief, but intense squall. A search is underway for the other two passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it lost contact with the plane at 2:37 PM just as an intense storm that blackened the sky as heavy rain fell hit the East Hampton-Amagansett area. “It was really bad,” Coast Guard Lt. Alaina Fagan said. An 87-foot Coast Guard rescue boat, the Bonito, was dispatched from the Montauk Coast Guard Station, Lt. Fagan said. An additional 87-foot cutter, the Steelhead, out of Rhode Island, also was dispatched.

She said a debris field was found about a mile off the beach, but had since spread. “A lot of assets are being deployed,” she said. East Hampton Town police and that department’s dive team, and the marine patrol were on the scene. A Sikorsky MH 60 Seahawk helicopter has been deployed by the National Guard, and the Coast Guard sent an MH 60 Jayhawk helicopter from Cape Cod. Also helping in the rescue effort are numerous small boats, including a number of fishing vessels.

Both of the bodies recovered were male, Lt. Fagan said. She said the East Hampton Town police dive team was searching for the fuselage and the remaining two victims.