Reuters: Most Read Articles: Radio contact lost with circling plane over Gulf of Mexico

Reuters: Most Read Articles Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Radio contact lost with circling plane over Gulf of Mexico Apr 19th 2012, 16:44 April 19 | Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:44pm EDT April 19 (Reuters) - Authorities said the pilot of a small plane circling over the Gulf of Mexico near Florida on Thursday was not responding to radio calls. The privately owned Cessna was enroute to Sarasota, Florida, from Slidell, Louisiana, and air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot after it took off, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said. The plane was at 20,000 feet (6,000 m), circling 150 miles (240 km) South of Crestview, Florida, and due to run out of fuel, the spokeswoman said. It may have already crashed into Gulf waters. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) sent jet fighters up, but could not hail the unidentified pilot, the FAA spokeswoman said. In a previous incident involving a "ghost plane," professional golfer Payne Stewart and five others died aboard a chartered private jet October 25, 1999. The plane lost cabin pressure, incapacitating those on board, and flew for four hours before crashing into a field near Aberdeen, South Dakota. (Reporting By Andrew Stern; Editing by Vicki Allen) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions