BELFAST – A pilot of a single-engine aircraft was believed missing after witnesses reported seeing the plane crash into waters off Seaside Drive on Sunday evening.

A dispatcher at the Waldo County Communications Center said the crash was reported at 5:56 p.m. Seaside Drive is located on the city’s south end near the Northport town line.

The small plane was believed to have taken off from the Belfast airport a short time before it was observed crashing into the sea. A Belfast firefighter said a Seaside Drive resident was outside working on his car when he heard a backfire from above and watched as the plane crashed into waters between Belfast and Islesboro.

Rescue vessels attached to the U.S. Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Searsport harbor master and Islesboro Fire Department, as well as others belonging to local fishermen and boaters, rushed to the scene within minutes after the alarm was sounded.

An oil slick was reported in the general area pinpointed by the witnesses. Rescue personnel were provided the longitude and latitude of that location, and the search continued as darkness descended. Belfast police Sgt. John Gibbs said authorities knew the identity of the pilot but were withholding his name pending notification of next of kin.

Gibbs said the Maine State Police and Coast Guard were organizing a command center and that the Federal Aviation Administration had been notified of the crash. A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to take part in the search, he said. Firetrucks and ambulances from the Belfast Fire Department were positioned at the city’s public landing in preparation for recovery of the missing pilot.