The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday evening that search efforts for a pilot lost in the Strait of Juan de Fuca have been suspended.
Coast Guard crews and partner agencies had been searching for the male pilot and his downed Cessna 170A since Tuesday when the man radioed a mayday shortly before 5 p.m.
He had departed from Ketchikan, Alaska and was headed for Port Angeles. The cause of his distress is still under investigation.
“Suspending search efforts is always an extremely tough decision,” said Capt. Nathan Coulter, Chief of Search and Rescue for the U.S. Coast Guard’s 13th District.
“A huge thanks to the many women and men from the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and good Samaritans who assisted in planning and carrying out this search effort.”
Over the course of the 23-hour search crews covered 1,170 square miles of ocean Northwest of Port Angeles.
The Canadian Coast Guard cutter Sir Wilfred Laurier, as well as a CC-115 Buffalo and a CH-149 Cormorant from the Royal Canadian Air Force assisted in the search.
“As is often the case, these boat, helicopter, and airplane crews answered the call instinctively and without delay to come to the aid of another,” said Coulter.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the pilot involved.”
