Coast Guard halts search for 87-year-old man after his plane went down off Boca Raton
After a three day search, the U.S. Coast Guard has stopped looking for Brendan Spratt, an 87-year-old man whose plane went down off the coast of Boca Raton.
“The decision to suspend a case is never an easy one,” said Lt. Shawn Antonelli, a command duty officer for Coast Guard District Seven. “Our greatest sympathies go out to the Spratt family during this time.”
Around 11:30 a.m. Friday, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center told the Coast Guard there was a downed Lancair 320, a small single-propeller plane, with at least a pilot aboard, about 15 miles southeast of Boca Raton.
Spratt last checked in the night of Feb. 23, Spratt’s son told the Coast Guard. Spratt was flying from Spruce Creek to Boca Raton, and was scheduled to land the same day in a private community’s airstrip, the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard crews searched about 16,000 square miles for Spratt before calling off the search. Crews did not find any debris.
