Coast Guard searching for 3 aboard missing Brooksville plane

BROOKSVILLE (FOX 13) - The Coast Guard says they've found an offshore debris field in their search for a missing plane, but there's still no sign of the aircraft itself, or the three people who were onboard.

The Coast Guard station in St. Petersburg received a call at 5:21 p.m. Sunday reporting that the white single-engine Piper Cherokee was missing, having dropped off radar less than an hour before it was scheduled to land.

The plane was headed for Cedar Key after taking off from Brooksville.  On board were Jasper Jerrels, 65, Hue Singletary, 60, and Jerrels' teenage son.

The plane's last known radar contact occurred at 11:06 a.m., when the plane was about seven miles south of Cedar Key.

An air crew out of Clearwater has been conducting a search, along with a boat crew from Yankeetown. Several other state and local agencies are also helping.

The missing pilot did not file a detailed flight plan, the Coast Guard said, so they are basing the search on the last-known radar contact with the plane.

Just after 9 a.m. today, searchers spotted an aircraft seat matching the description of the interior of the missing plane, and the Coast Guard says crews located a "small debris field."  However, the plane has yet to be found.

Stay with FOX 13 for updates on this developing story.