Single-engine plane crashes into ocean off Atlantic City coast, 1 dead

ATLANTIC CITY -- A single-engine plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey Thursday, and the Coast Guard was searching for it with boat and helicopter crews.

The Mooney M20 departed from Gaylord, Michigan, earlier Thursday and was headed to Atlantic City International Airport when it crashed into the ocean around 2:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The pilot was killed in the crash. The pilot was the only person aboard the plane. Their identity has not yet been released.

Flight tracking software shows the plane traveling past the airport at around 20,000 feet. It began quickly descending, going from a drop rate of 1,113 feet per minute to 5,438 feet per minute over the course of two minutes while heading east and out to sea, according to the data.

Ryan Jorgenson, a data analyst with FlightAware, called that descent rate "not normal."