Reports of an aircraft crashing into the ocean off Long Beach Island are unfounded, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office said Thursday afternoon.
Following a 911 call for a plane crash, initial reports from beach patrols and law enforcement sources indicated that something had gone down into the ocean about a mile off of 26th Street.
What was first thought to be a plane with as many as three people aboard was later identified by sources as potentially an ultralight craft, a glider, or even a kiteboard.
The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter and crews on the reports, joining a two-hour search with the beach patrol and New Jersey State Police.
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Video posted to social media showed an active search underway in very choppy waters, though the search turned up no indication of a crash.
Ultimately, though, authorities found nothing and called off the search.
