MISSING: Passenger plane VANISHES from radar off South Carolina coast en route to Bahamas
A PLANE disappeared from radar readings off the coast of South Carolina in the US on Thursday while en route to the Bahamas.
Search and rescue teams are working to establish its whereabouts.
The Piper PA-31 Navajo, a twin-engine aircraft, left Robert F. Swinnie Airport in Georgetown County, according to reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - the authority with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation in the US - announced the plane's disappearance.
The plane vanished from radars at roughly 11.30am local time (4.30pm BST) 110 miles east of Charleston, the US Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said in a tweet: “Crews are responding to a downed civilian aircraft approximately 110 miles east of Charleston, SC.
“USCG has multiple assets searching the aircraft's last known location.”
The aircraft reported an “in-flight emergency”, lost contact on radar and notified the Air Force Rescue Coordination Centre, according to reports.
Several military aircraft and ships are assisting with the search.
It is not known how many passengers were on board the plane.
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of small, cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft, whose popularity has fallen since the 1980s.
Owing to the fall in demand, production of the Pa-31 model ceased in 1984.
Germany: Scene of plane crash in Wasserkuppe
Federal records show the missing PA-31 is registered to a company based in Delaware.
It’s unknown how many people were on board the plane, but a Piper PA-31 aircraft is capable of carrying up to nine passengers.
It was scheduled to fly to Governor’s Harbour Airport on Eleuthera island in the Bahamas.
The plane is believed to have crashed into the ocean.