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Airplane recovery company waiting for crashed aircraft in Mayport

There is no official confirmation that this is the same crashed aircraft that crashed off the coast of Jacksonville on Dec. 20.

A source has confirmed to First Coast News that there is an aircraft recovery company on standby at the Morningstar Marina in Mayport waiting for a crashed aircraft.

There is no official confirmation that this is the same crashed aircraft that crashed off the coast of Jacksonville on Dec. 20.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office dive team has been assisting the National Transportation Safety Board in the Mayport area investigating a plane crash from December.

JSO did not specify which December plane crash they're referring to, but First Coast News knows of only one in our area from December. 

A father and son from New Jersey were on board the plane when it vanished.

RELATED >> Father, 18-year-old son on board plane that vanished off coast of Ponte Vedra Beach

The U.S. Coast Guard said a person on board a Piper PA-46 single-engine aircraft made a distress call around 9:45 a.m. It reportedly crashed east of Ponte Vedra Beach with two people on board.

Credit: FlightAware

The disappearance sparked a 52-hour search for the aircraft that was suspended three days later. 

JSO blocked off the Mayport Boat Ramp around 1:00 pm, after they said they were bringing in a downed aircraft.

Parts of the airplane have returned to shore at the Mayport Boat Ramp where JSO set up command post for their Dive Team.

First Coast News is working to confirm this is the same plane a father and son were flying from Orlando to New Jersey before it crashed in December. According to a flight tracker website, Flight Aware

the plane fell from 22,100 feet in the air to 1,500 feet within two minutes, losing over 170 mph of speed.

A First Coast News viewer took a picture of the airplane being dragged by a boat back to shore. JSO says they continued to face delays in bringing the plane back to shore.

An NTSB spokesperson told First Coast News they will continue to investigate exactly what led up to the crash.

RELATED: Coast Guard suspends search for plane that crashed east of Jacksonville

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