Coast Guard calls off search for Gulf crash survivors

The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search this afternoon for five people lost after their plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, about 20 miles west of Port Richey.

Rescuers ended the search at 3 p.m. today based "on the catastrophic nature of the crash," Coast Guard officials said.

"We would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the families of those involved in the crash," Capt. Timothy M. Close, commander of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg said in a written statement today.

Plane wreckage and human remains have been found in the area where the Coast Guard has been searching for a missing plane with the five people - including a Tampa businessman - on board.

The remains, according to the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's office, are expected to arrive at the Port of St. Petersburg at 6:30 p.m., where the medical examiner will take possession.

A Tampa metal company employee was among the five passengers of the twin-engine Cessna, which went down in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, just 20 miles from shore, according to officials of two companies with passengers on board.

The unidentified passenger worked for the Tampa branch of McNichols Co., a steel service center, said Sarah Morris, company human resources manager. Morris would not identify the employee, saying only that the company is monitoring the progress of the Coast Guard's efforts.

Quality Powder Coating, a Texas corporation, said this morning that two of the passengers were customers from Tampa who were returning home after a business trip to Texas but the medical examiner's office this afternoon said that only one of the passengers has Bay area ties.

The Texas company issued a statement this morning saying that Steve Barrows, the company pilot, was flying the plane and company President Roland Schurrer was on board. Officials said that an unidentified marketing representative was also aboard.

The local medical examiner's office has begun the task of identifying the recovered remains.

"Most of our identification efforts will be through DNA," said Bill Pellan, director of investigations for the office. Pellan said his office received "body fragments" from the Coast Guard early this morning.

"One of our highest priorities," he said, "is to establish the identity of those fragmented remains."

Pellan said his investigators are in touch with the families of all five people to obtain DNA samples for the investigation. Only one of the families is from the Bay area, he said.

"We have to obtain reference samples from families," Pellan said. That could include samples from toothbrushes or tissue from close relatives. It's a process that might take weeks before any conclusions are drawn, he said.

Coast Guard crews continued their search today through a 2-mile-wide debris left by the crashed twin-engine Cessna, which was registered to Q4 Aviation LLC in Carrollton, Texas. The corporation shares an address with Quality Powder Coating. The area is about 20 miles west of Port Richey.

Capt. Tim Close said crews are looking for survivors, but added the scene in the Gulf is not encouraging.

"It certainly looks like it was a catastrophic event," he said.

The human remains found amid the debris were collected by the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Alligator which brought them, and some plane wreckage, ashore early this morning, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Rob Simpson. The debris was turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and the remains to the medical examiner's office.

The airplane left Collin County Regional Airport in McKinney, Texas, about 10 a.m. Wednesday en route to Tampa International Airport but never made it after reporting turbulence over the Gulf of Mexico.

The area of debris indicates that the plane hit hard after coming down "at a severe angle," said Robert Breiling of Boca Raton, a retired Navy pilot who runs an aviation consulting business.

There were thunderstorms over the Gulf at the time, but it was unclear whether turbulence in those storms was enough to cause the crash.

"Planes don't usually break up in air unless there is severe turbulence," Breiling said.

Search crews Thursday weathered strong thunderstorms and gusting winds along with 3 to 5-foot seas.

The Federal Aviation Administration's Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center reported losing radar and radio contact with the Cessna at 1:52 p.m. Wednesday. At the time, the plane was flying at about 5,000 feet and was about 45 miles northwest of Tampa.

The NTSB is investigating the crash, said spokesman Keith Holloway, but a determination of what went wrong was a long way off.

"At this point," he said, "we are waiting for recovery efforts" ... for some "large pieces of wreckage" to be recovered."