Search suspended for plane lost near Victoria

VICTORIA — The search for a small plane that issued a mayday distress call before losing contact over the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington and Vancouver Island has been suspended.

The U.S. Coast Guard said American and Canadian searchers covered an area of more than 3,000 square kilometres without finding the lone pilot.

Crews worked through the night Tuesday trying to track the small plane that took off from Ketchikan, Alaska, with one person aboard en route to Port Angeles, Wash.

Officials with the Canadian Forces Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre say the pilot described his location before contact was lost.

Several U.S. ships and planes were leading the search, and U.S. officials say several Good Samaritans also assisted. Coulter said before the single-engine Cessna 170A went down, the pilot described land formations he could see and ships in the area.