A full-scale emergency rescue operation has been launched in the English Channel after plane travelling from the UK to France with two people on board crashed.
The Piper PA-28 had departed from Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon, shortly before 8am on Saturday morning (April 2) but went off radar just over an hour later.
The plane been in a group of aircraft which was heading to the French resort of Le Touquet in northern France.
Public flight records showed that the privately owned jet had left Wellesbourne at 7.56am and appeared to go off radar over the Channel at 09.02am.
He spoke as the wide-ranging search was suspended overnight Saturday, as rescuers said it would resume at first light on Sunday.
The two aboard the plane were British nationals, according to another investigating source in France.
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."
At 8.30pm local time in France, there was still no sign of the occupants after an air and sea rescue team was dispatched following the mystery crash.
"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 passenger and pilot of the plane have not been identified publicly.
A Piper PA-28 is usually equipped with lifejackets and a life raft and usually has two to four seats.
Rescue teams anticipate that the plane may have already sunk, but are still hoping to find the occupants alive.
This particular model of plane was built by the U.S. firm, Piper, as a trainer, air taxi, or for personal transport.
It has been in production since 1960 and various models have been involved in a number of high-profile accidents in that time.
In August 1972, Prince William of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, was killed along with his co-pilot in a Piper Cherokee Arrow after crashing on take-off from Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, during an air race.
