US Coast Guard Calls Off Search For Gulfport Plane That Crashed Into Lake Pontchartrain
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
November 28, 2025
GULFPORT, MS. The United States Coast Guard and several local emergency agencies responded after a plane crashed into Lake Pontchartrain.
Law enforcement has not released the names of those on board, but Michael Carastro, the owner of Apollo Flight Training and Aircraft Management, said the instructor and student who were on board the small plane left from Million Air in Gulfport and crashed into Lake Pontchartrain and are presumed dead.
Carastro said the instructor was highly qualified. “She was coming up on 1,200 to 1,300 hours, which makes her about 200 short of meeting her requirements for the airlines, which was her ultimate goal,” said Carastro.
According to the USCG, the single-engine Cessna 172N left Gulfport at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, heading to New Orleans. Around 6:23 p.m., the plane lost radio contact about four miles offshore.
On Tuesday, a U.S. Coast Guard source said crews found debris believed to be from the missing plane. During the previous night’s search, a Coast Guard helicopter spotted what is believed to be a seat cushion in the debris.
Carastro said there was no distress call and that the FAA and the NTSB are investigating.
Carastro described the crash as a “huge loss” and “unbelievable tragedy.”
The Coast Guard has suspended its search for two people who were on board a small plane.
Copyright 2025 Blue RAM Media. All rights reserved.
