Search resumes off Jamaica for 'ghost flight' plane that crashed into sea

The wreckage of the high-performance plane carrying Rochester real estate developer Laurence Glazer and his entrepreneur wife, Jane, both experienced and enthusiastic pilots had not been found early on Saturday, a day after US fighter pilots launched to shadow the unresponsive aircraft observed the pilot slumped over and its windows frosting over. The plane apparently slammed into the Caribbean at least 14 miles (22 kilometres) off the north-east coastal town of Port Antonio, the Guardian reports.

Jamaica Coast Guard Commander Antonette Wemyss-Gorman told reporters that the area of the sea where the private US plane went down has depths of roughly 1,500 to 2,000 feet (457 to 610 metres). As darkness fell on Friday, search operations were suspended until dawn after the Jamaican military reported finding an oil slick in the general area where the plane vanished.

A 154ft (47m) US Coast Guard cutter and a helicopter crew are helping in the search off Jamaica. In a statement on Friday, the Coast Guard 7th District command centre in Miami said three people were reportedly on board the plane.

The plane's pilot had indicated there was a problem and twice asked to descend to a lower altitude before permission was granted by an air traffic controller, according to a recording of the radio conversation. Radio contact with the plane was lost a short time later.

Son Rick Glazer said that his parents were both licensed pilots. He said he could not confirm they were killed, adding that "we know so little".

But numerous public officials offered their condolences for a couple described as a linchpin in efforts to rejuvenate an upstate New York city stung by the decline of corporate giants Kodak, Bausch & Lomb and Xerox.

"They cannot be replaced," said Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, a former Rochester mayor.

Senator Charles Schumer called the crash "a massive and heartbreaking loss for this community."