Eight people, including four teenagers, on a hunting trip have been killed in a plane crash

There were no survivors in a private plane crash off the North Carolina coast Sunday that killed eight people, including four teens, and a successful businessman.

One body has been recovered from the area and there’s ‘no indication any of the people onboard survived the crash,’  the Carteret County Sheriff confirmed Monday afternoon.

 Recovery efforts continued after the Pilatus PC-12 airplane went down four miles east of Drum Inlet. Before it disappeared, the single-engine aircraft was spotted on radar ‘behaving erratically,’ the US Coast Guard said.

Among its occupants was a group of high school friends and entrepreneur Hunter Parks. 

On the day before the crash, Parks hosted a wildfowl hunting expedition on his Lake Mattamuskeet-area property for veterans and youth in keeping with an annual tradition he held.

He was joined by his girlfriend Stephanie Fulcher, her son Kole McInnis, and three of his teenaged friends.

Four teens were among those killed when a plane crashed off the North Carolina coast on Sunday. Friends and relatives have identified them as (from left) Jake Taylor, Kole McInnis, Dailey Shepherd, and Noah Styron

North Carolina businessman Hunter Parks (left) and his girlfriend Stephanie Fulcher (center) were among the other passengers. They’re pictured with her son Kole McKinnis (right)

Shortly before the plane began its return trip home Sunday, Fulcher posted this photo of the teens indulging in McDonalds meals, still wearing their hunting gear

The single-engine passenger plane went down off the coast of Drum Inlet, North Carolina and has not yet been recovered

Shortly before the plane took off, Fulcher shared photos on Facebook of the teens settled onto the aircraft, munching on McDonalds meals and gazing tiredly toward the camera as they prepared to return to their Down East homes. 

Fulcher captioned the snaps she shared Sunday by writing: ‘Blessed to have a successful Youth/Veteran duck hunt again this year!’

Tom Harrison, who is friends and business partners with Parks, described him as an accomplished fisherman and the longtime managing partner of Mattamuskeet Ventures.

‘Whatever he did, he poured himself into it,’ Harrison told DailyMail.com. ‘He was extremely kind and generous and wanted everybody to be happy. He was a problem solver, an intermediary, and just a great partner, a great friend, and a great guy.’ 

Parks hosted an annual duck hunting retreat on his property Saturday, as he did every year for children and veterans. 

‘It’s a way of giving back to veterans and a way of preserving our heritage with young men and being positive role models, and getting them outside and disconnecting them from electronics,’ he said. ‘Giving them an experience out in nature.’

Fulcher (left) and Parks (right) began dating several years ago, and both shared a passion for the outdoors

The teens are believed to be students at East Carteret High School in North Carolina

McKinnis was travelling with his mother and mom’s boyfriend, who hosted the expedition

The teens are believed to be students at East Carteret High School. They’ve been identified by friends and family as Kole McInnis, Jake Taylor, Dailey Shepherd, and Noah Styron.

Carteret County Public Schools spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said the district was still awaiting word from the US Coast Guard before releasing information.

‘We are incredibly saddened and join with the Down East and Eastern North Carolina community as we await official word on the airplane crash off the coast of Drum Inlet, North Carolina,’ said a statement from the district. ‘Crisis teams are on school campuses to support students, staff and families.’

The pilot and an eighth passenger on the plane have not yet been identified. 

Union Point Church Pastor Aaron Golden, who lives in a neighboring county, lead the community in mourning through a Facebook post.

‘I know all Down East is in mourning,’ Golden said. ‘Down East is such a tightknit community it has such a deep heritage and all of those on that plane yesterday really represented that for the Down East community.’

Coast Guard boats, as well as an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter military aircrew, launched a search of the area Sunday to find the single-engine aircraft and on Monday added a Coast Guard C-130 fixed-wing aircraft to assist efforts.

Although it can be challenging to recover downed aircrafts in bodies of water, a spokesman said he’s optimistic crews will be able to locate the missing plane.

‘It can be very difficult, but we’re well equipped to provide adequate search efforts, especially since we have so many partner agencies working with is,’ spokesman Edward Wargo told DailyMail.com. ‘This is something the Coast Guard trains for, and we’ve experienced this before.’

Search crews are now working to recover the Pilatus PC-12 single engine airplane, similar to the one shown in this 2008 file photo