U.S., Canadian Rescuers Search Northern Atlantic for Downed Jet

Canadian and U.S. planes on Wednesday combed a 300,000-square-mile area in the northern Atlantic Ocean for a Peruvian Boeing 727 that ran low on fuel and ditched a day earlier with 16 people aboard.

Canadian Coast Guard spokesman Chip Chase said the search area was expanded because satellite signals believed to be from the downed plane turned out to be from other sources.

“Nothing has been sighted yet. We’re going to continue searching as long as we can,” said Chase, adding that he was uncertain how long those aboard could last in the water if they survived the ditching.

The airplane, owned by Faucett Airlines of Peru, left Milan, Italy, early Tuesday. It refueled in Reykjavik, Iceland, before heading to Gander, Newfoundland, for a second refueling and was to arrive in Miami the same day.

Chase said seven planes were involved in the search, including two U.S. Air Force Reserve Hercules, one from Iceland and the other dispatched from Detroit. Five Coast Guard and Canadian Navy ships also were involved in the search, he said.

Chase said weather conditions were “pretty good” despite light fog, 3-to-6 foot waves and winds of 10-15 m.p.h.