Family of duck hunters posted about blessings before plane crash in North Carolina - as stormy conditions hamper search

A HAUNTING last picture shared on Facebook showed happy teenage boys coming from a duck hunting trip before their plane crashed.

The Coast Guard is still in search-and-rescue-mode despite stormy conditions hampering the mission near the Outer Banks.

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"Some people and some media might write them off because it looks bad, but this is still a search and rescue mission," the Coast Guard told The Sun Tuesday morning.

Hunter Parks and his girlfriend, Stephanie Fulcher, were returning from a duck hunting trip that included four teenagers when their plane plummeted into the water off the coast of North Carolina on Sunday.

Fulcher wrote, "Blessed to have a successful Youth/Veteran duck hunt again this year!"

One unidentified body was recovered, but there were seven more people on board, as of Tuesday morning, and the Coast Guard said that's enough incentive to searching.

Four of the passengers were East Carteret High School students Cole Styron, Jake Taylor, Kole McInnis and Dailey Shepherd.

The four people were the pilot Ernest Rawls, his son Jeffrey, Parks and Fulcher.

The Coast Guard said they have an unwavering sense of optimism that keeps them going during the bleakest of situations.

Their sheer will and determination have led to some of the most miraculous rescues.

"We're looking for any signs of life at this point," the Coast Guard said. "We've had times where we just keep going and going and find someone clinging to a cooler and get them to safety.

"It's something that we take pride in is having optimism. We have to to make these rescues."

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The first night was a tough one for rescuers because stormy conditions and the night sky made visibility difficult, the Coast Guard said.

"But we'll keep going until it's too dangerous for us and we've exhausted all options."

The decision to end a search-and-rescue is determined by a multitude of factors including water and air temperatures.

"We're not near that point yet," the Coast Guard said. "We're holding out hope."

PLANE 'BEHAVING ERRATICALLY'

According to officials, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center watchstanders got a report of a possible downed aircraft from an air traffic controller at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point around 2 pm on Sunday.

The report noted the aircraft was "behaving erratically" on radar before disappearing from the radar screen.

The Carteret County Public Schools system released this statement: “We are incredibly saddened as we join with the Down East and Eastern North Carolina communities as we await official word on the airplane crash off the coast of Drum Inlet.”

Coast Guard officials say they have two boat crews searching and aircrew from Elizabeth City.

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The Federal Aviation Administration said the missing aircraft is a single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

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