Photo: Maritime Forces Pacific

The search for a missing aircraft with one person on board continues this morning, with coast guard vessels and military aircraft from Canada and the United States searching the waters between Victoria and Port Angeles.

Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the pilot of the Cessna single engine aircraft sent a mayday call while over the Juan de Fuca Strait saying he was in distress, said Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, a spokesman for U.S. Coast Guard District 13, which covers the Pacific Northwest.

Victoria’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre was contacted and provided a Canadian Coast Guard vessel, helicopter and aircraft out of 19 Wing Comox to assist with the search. The U.S. Coast Guard also sent crews to search from the water and the air.

The search area is focused on a large swath of water straddling the Canada-U.S. border, northeast of Port Angeles and south of Victoria.

The pilot was unsure of his location but he told the dispatcher he could see a large freighter in the water, Strohmaier said.

“There were several vessels in the area so we’re trying to work backward to figure out where he could have been,” he said.

The pilot left from Ketchikan, Alaska, but his final destination is unclear, Strohmaier said.