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UPDATED at 11:10 p.m.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A single-engine Cessna carrying two people, "went straight down" into the ocean off New Smyrna Beach tonight, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
FAA pokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Cessna 172 Skyhawk flew out of Sarasota and was on its way to Daytona Beach International Airport when it crashed off New Smyrna Beach.
No survivors were found following the 6:30 p.m. incident with eyewitnesses reporting "the plane went spiraling down into the ocean several yards from the shore, Sheriff's spokeswoman Priscilla Ress confirmed for NSBNews.Net.
Several people on shore who saw the planer as it "went straight down" tried swimming out to the area south of Bethune Beach where it broke the surface of the water, but they had to turn back because the waves were too choppy, Ress said, adding further attempts to use jet skis were fruitless as well because of the rolling surf.
A Sheriff's Air-One helicopter flew over, but did not see any debris, though later in the evening debris was spotted by a Beach Patrol officer on a jet ski, Ress said. The 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher and a smaller rescue boat were deployed as well.
The Coast Guard did not have information on how many people were on board and the search for possible survivors was called off about 9 p.m. with the Volusia County Sheriff's dive team on standby with the possibility of searching the wreckage area at daybreak Thursday.