Search crews stand down after finding no evidence of plane crash near Terence Bay

Search crews stood down Tuesday night after finding no evidence of a plane crash near Terence Bay, N.S.

The search lasted for a couple hours and included a navy frigate, a coast guard cutter, a cormorant helicopter, RCMP officers, and fire crews, said Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) spokesperson Capt. Cameron Hillier.

“After thorough search and no signs of distress, all assets have been stood down,” read a tweet from Joint Task Force Atlantic.

The Mounties said the search was ended in consultation with the JRCC, according to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Clarke.

“Our watch commander, incident commander, have decided that we don’t have any evidence that an aircraft went down in that area.”

Search crews “can’t find any evidence at all,” said Clarke. Air Traffic Control doesn’t have any planes unaccounted for and JRCC said it hasn’t picked up any emergency signals.

The initial report came from a citizen at 6:35 p.m., he reported seeing something “suspicious,” Clarke said. He reported a small aircraft that appeared in distress, and police thought the report was credible.

The search was aided by a cormorant helicoper, the navy ship HMCS Halifax, and coast guard ship CCGS Sambro, along with a coast guard auxillary boat. The crews searched the shore waters around Terence Bay and Peggy’s Cove.

Halifax fire crews found nothing on land

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency says crews responded to the report as well but found nothing.

Crews searched for 45 minutes, first in the area of Terence Bay and then looped down to Peggy’s Cove, but found nothing, according to Division 3 Commander Kevin Reade.

Reade said a single emergency call came in from a person saying that a plane had crashed, split in two and caught fire. Fire crews returned to Halifax following their search.