Small plane crashes in Gulf of Mexico

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - The Coast Guard says a small plane that two F-15 fighter jets were tracking for hours has crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

CNN reported at 12:48 p.m. that the twin-engine Cessna 421 crashed over the Gulf of Mexico, according to Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Christopher O'Neil.

The plane's flight path can be tracked by following this link.

The Coast Guard says there are no signs that its pilot survived the crash.

The pilot was the only person on the Cessna 421C. It went down Thursday about three hours after two F-15 fighter jets tried to make contact with the unresponsive pilot.

Coast Guard Chief John Edwards said the plane landed right-side up on the ocean surface and floating, but monitoring planes did not see a life raft deploy and never made contact with the pilot. The plane has since begun sinking into the Gulf about 120 miles west of Tampa, Fla.

A Coast Guard cutter and rescue helicopter are en route to the crash site at 2:45 p.m.

Mike Maddox, a manager at the Slidell airfield where the plane took off, told CNN that family members had been notified of a situation.