Editor's note: This updates with plane wreckage found, no survivors confirmed.
Wreckage of a single-engine plane that had been en route from from Florida to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was found Tuesday evening deep in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Paramedics lowered to the crash site confirmed there were no survivors.
The plane was spotted by a Tennessee Army National Guard helicopter on an unnamed ridge between Cole Creek and Bearpen Hollow Branch. While a park release said the identifies of the victims were not immediately confirmed, they also said David Starling, 41, Kim Smith, 42, and Hunter Starling, 8, all from Bradford County, Florida, were believed to be aboard the plane.
Ground teams searched the steep and heavily wooded area on foot Tuesday, but were unable to access some areas due to the rough terrain, a park release said. A single Blackhawk helicopter was able to fly late afternoon and spotted the wreckage along the last known flight path of the missing aircraft. Recovery efforts of the three victims was to begin on Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be the lead in the crash investigation.
Park officials received word Monday evening about 7:30 p.m. that the plane was missing and believed down inside the 522,000+-acre park. On Tuesday, park officials said the search was focused in the ridges southwest of Mount LeConte Lodge. Civil Air Patrol conducted an aerial reconnaissance flight late Monday to try to locate the plane using the emergency locator transmitter, but were unable to find any transmissions from the aircraft.
Overnight, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center was able to use information from McGhee Tyson Airport tower radar and the plane’s emergency locator transmitter to determine a specific area where the plane is most likely located, a park release said. Ground search teams were deployed Tuesday morning to Bearpen Hollow Branch and areas southwest of the Bullhead Trail to search for signs of the aircraft. The park was also coordinating with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to arrange for a reconnaissance flight as soon as the weather clears.
The missing plane was reported to be a Cessna 182 fixed wing single-engine aircraft. The flight had originated out of Florida and was bound for the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport. The AFRCC has reported that the plane was in conversations with air traffic controllers at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, but there is no additional information on these conversations at this time. Information on passengers on board has not been confirmed.
The National Park Service was working closely with the AFRCC, CAP, Federal Aviation Administration, and TEMA in this ongoing search effort. Additional details will be shared as they are received.
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