Coastguard launches major search operation for light aircraft
The coastguard has launched a major search operation for a light aircraft that went missing after leaving City of Derry Airport on Thursday morning.
The microlight left the airport, in Eglinton, County Londonderry, at about 11:00 BST and is understood to have been bound for Scotland.
Two people were on board.
A "comprehensive" search operation off the North Channel began at about 20:20 BST on Thursday.
The coastguard said the aircraft was "tracking east towards Castle Kennedy, near Stranraer".
Six coastguard rescue teams and two rescue helicopters are involved in the search.
Five lifeboats from Larne and Red Bay in Northern Ireland, as well as Portpatrick in Scotland, have been deployed.