Video: Search ongoing for downed plane off Kauai

U.S. Coast Guard crews were searching today for the pilot of a twin-engine Beechcraft 1900 that crashed at sea about seven miles south of Lihu'e, Kaua'i.

The male pilot was the only person aboard the Beechcraft, which was last seen on radar at 5:08 a.m., in a position about seven miles south of Lihu'e International Airport. The pilot was carrying cargo on a regularly scheduled flight from Honolulu.

The Beechcraft King Air belonged to Alpine Air and was carrying U.S. mail, said Alpine Air station manager David Dart. He said the company is not releasing any information about the pilot yet and they are "praying" for a positive outcome.

Crew members aboard a 25-foot SAFE boat from Coast Guard Station Kauai spotted debris in the water in a position seven miles south of the airport at 8:50 a.m.

Two HH-65 Dolphin helicopters and a C-130 from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point are on scene. Also, the 87-foot patrol boat Kittiwake was launched from Nawiliwili to assist the crew of the 25-foot SAFE boat.

Coast Guard crews report the on-scene weather as challenging, with wind from the northeast at greater than 25 knots and 15-foot seas in the Kaua'i Channel.

The Coast Guard is working with the Kaua'i Fire Department and Federal Aviation Agency on the search for the Beechcraft.

The pilot was not talking to air traffic controllers, and no mayday was received, according to Ian Gregor, communications manager for the FAA Western-Pacific Region.

We reviewed radar tracks and saw that the plane disappeared off radar 7.2 miles southeast of Lihu'e at 100 feet above the water, Gregor said in an e-mail. In that area, aircraft inbound to Lihu'e typically are at about 1,500 feet altitude, he said.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident.