Potential plane crash in Southwestern Pennsylvania leads to river search
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A potential plane crash prompted a search of the Monongahela River in Fayette County on Friday.
Search crews spent Friday looking for the wreckage of a potential small plane crash in the river near Masontown, Adah Volunteer Fire Department Chief LC Otto said. Authorities said sonar detected a "foreign object" in the river.
"It picks up everything," Otto said. "It doesn't tell you what it is. But it was a foreign object that is not typically in the water, that shouldn't be."
No person or plane was reported missing on Friday, Otto said. He added that there was no mayday call and a small plane wouldn't have had to submit a flight plan.
Crews suspended Friday's search and will resume work on Saturday morning. Divers are being brought in to aid in the search this weekend and hopefully identify the "foreign object."
"It was miserably cold," Otto said on Friday. "The water is around 30 degrees. It was a long day."
The search started after a 911 caller reported to Greene County 911 about seeing a small plane go down around 12:45 p.m. The caller said they did not see the small plane crash, but they also did not see it come back up.
The fire chief stressed that officials do not have confirmation of a plane crash. No debris was found on the surface of the river during Friday's search.
Crews from Fayette and Greene counties also searched the woods and hillsides near the river. A helicopter and a volunteer in a private plane helped in the search on Friday.
