Canadian officials called off a search Wednesday after police and military officials failed to find evidence that a plane had crashed in the waters off southwestern New Brunswick, about 25 miles east of the Maine border.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada — the Canadian air traffic control agency — told NBC News that it has received no reports of a plane crash in the area. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police official said no wreckage has been found.
Someone called police and said the plane, described as both an four-engine and a single-engine aircraft, may have crashed in the water near the town of Pocologan, officials said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Dana Hart said a person driving on a highway reported that a single-engine plane appeared to be having difficulty, and smoke was coming from it.
The witness did not see a crash, and there have been no reports of missing planes in the area and no signs of a crash, Hart said.
"The individual is pretty sure what they saw, so we're investigating," Hart said.
Two phone calls
Military spokeswoman Pat Jessup said the Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax received two phone calls from people claiming they saw a small plane flying low over the area, headed toward the Bay of Fundy.
A fisheries cutter, a Hercules aircraft and a Cormorant helicopter from Canadian Forces Base Greenwood were dispatched to the area.
A spokesman for Canada's military told CTV Television that none of its Hercules planes were missing, following an early report on local radio cited by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
A U.S. military official at the North American Aerospace Defense Command told NBC News that it "heard the initial reports" of a plane crash off the Atlantic coast of Canada, but that it had no additional information.
