Authorities: A small plane crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off Hamptons

A small private plane with three people aboard crashed into the waters off the ocean Hamptons late Saturday morning and a search and rescue mission by sea and air was under way in the US. afternoon, the authorities announced.

Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said the crackers had discovered "what looks like pieces of the aircraft". The plane seems to have crashed about 1.5 km from Quogue.

Surfers on the beach "have witnessed the crash of the plane and their fall in the ocean" shortly before 11 am, said Kevin Raynor, third assistant to the chief of the fire department. from Westhampton Beach.

Raynor said three people were on board the aircraft, which the Coast Guard identified as a two – engine Piper PA – 34. The plane can accommodate up to seven people. No information on its orientation or origin has been published.

About 10 firefighters from Westhampton were dispatched just after 11 am, said Raynor, before officials discovered the incident off Quogue and local firefighters also responded.

Authorities in the city of Southampton, Quogue, state police, Suffolk County police and the National Air Guard, among others, have responded, officials said.

"It's like all the agencies in the world here," said Quogue Mayor Peter Sartorius, noting that Dune Road was closed at Quogue Bridge.

John Morgan, of Quogue, said his 24-year-old son, Tyler Morgan, was golfing with friends at the nearby Quogue Field Club, when he saw the plane crush .

"They saw it in the air and they just saw it coming down," said John Morgan, who went to the beach after the accident and saw several boats from research on water.

A Coast Guard spokesman said the agency had sent first responders to the Shinnecock station, including boats and planes.

The vessels in question included a 45-foot boat, an 87-foot cutter and a 110-foot cutter. A diving team was also being formed.

"The FAA confirmed to the Coast Guard that one aircraft was down," the spokesman said. "It's a small plane, whether it's a single or double propeller plane. We do not know how many people are in the water. "

The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that a "plane crashed in the water about three miles south-southeast" from Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach.

There was light rain and winds of about 10 mph on Saturday morning in the area and the temperature was around 50 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Earlier this year, plane crashes killed five people in Long Island. On May 30, two days after Memorial Day, a pilot died when his World War II plane crashed into a wooded area of ​​Melville. On June 2, a small plane crashed off Amagansett during a storm, causing four casualties on board.

Hampton Bays' Jon Dollard pilot has lost control of the twin-engine Piper Navajo, according to an initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board released in July. Dollard, 47, was carrying passengers Ben and Bonnie Krupinski, both 70, and their grandson, William Maerov, 22, all of whom are based in East Hampton, Newport State Airport. Rhode Island, at East Hampton Airport.

The wreckage was discovered about one kilometer south of the Indian Wells beach, submerged in 50 feet of water, according to the report.

With Jean-Paul Salamanca and Laura Blasey