Mother, children with Southold ties aboard missing plane: U.S. Coast Guard
A small plane carrying a part-time Southold resident and her two young sons traveling from Puerto Rico to a Florida town was reported missing Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Debris was found approximately 15 miles east of Eleuthera, Bahamas around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and the search for survivors continues, Coast Guard officials said.
Jennifer Blumin, 40, who is the founder and CEO of Skylight Studios in Manhattan, a company that transforms urban buildings into high-end event spaces, was traveling with her four- and 10-year-old sons, as well as pilot Nathan Ulrich of New Hampshire. They were aboard an MU-2B airplane about 37 miles east of Eleuthera on Monday about 2 p.m. when communication was lost, according to the Coast Guard.
The plane was registered to a Southold address belonging to Ms. Blumin.
No members of the family were at the tidy two-story house that overlooks Goose Creek in Southold Tuesday afternoon. Ms. Blumin’s company didn’t return a request seeking comment Tuesday.
Mr. Ulrich is the former husband of actress Rae Dawn Chong, who said a mechanical error was likely to blame rather than pilot error.
“He’s an excellent pilot. You couldn’t get a better pilot,” Chong, the daughter of actor Tommy Chong, told the New York Daily News.
The Coast Guard has been searching for the plane, which took off from Puerto Rico at 11 a.m. on Monday, since Miami air traffic control reported it had lost radio and radar contact about two hours later. Communication was reported lost while the plane was traveling at 24,000 feet with a speed of 300 knots, according to the Coast Guard. It was en route to Titusville, Fla.
Photo: Jennifer Blumin. (Credit: Twitter)
