Remains Found Near 'Ghost Plane' Crash Site

Investigators haven't found answers yet in the mysterious crash of a private jet in the Baltic Sea Sunday—but human remains and debris have now been recovered, and an underwater search for the Cessna Citation 551 is underway. Lt. Cmdr. Peteris Subbota, head of the Latvian military’s Marine Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, tells the AP that "remains of human bodies we believe to be associated with the crash" were found Tuesday off the country's coast and since the water at the crash site is only around 200 feet deep, the chances of finding and recovering the plane wreck are good.

The plane, which departed Jerez, Spain Sunday bound for Cologne, Germany, crashed after going off course, apparently on autopilot, and running out of fuel. Five European countries, including Germany, scrambled fighter jets to try to make contact with the aircraft but they didn't see anybody in the cockpit. The German newspaper Bild reports that the jet—which it describes as a "ghost plane"—reported cabin pressure issues early in the flight. Cologne-based air charter company Quick Air confirmed that the plane belonged to the firm's owner, Karl-Peter Griesemann, reports Reuters. According to local media, the three passengers were his wife, their daughter, and her boyfriend. (More plane crash stories.)