ATLANTIC, N.C. (WITN) – The Down East community will pause Monday to honor high school students killed in a plane crash in Carteret County one year ago.

Four East Carteret High School students were among eight people killed on February 13, 2022, as the group was returning from a duck hunting trip in Hyde County. The Pilatus PC-12/47 plane, headed for the Beaufort airport, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The county has declared Monday as Young Waterfowlers’ Day to honor Noah Styron, Jake Taylor, Daily Shepherd, and Kole McInnis.

A memorial service and tree planting will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday at Atlantic Elementary School.

Students and staff at all Carteret County Schools, as well as the community, are encouraged to wear camouflage on Monday as a sign of community support and solidarity.

The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to release a final report on the crash. Just last month, the families of five victims settled a lawsuit against the owner of the plane, the companies that employed the pilot, and the pilot’s estate.

Others killed in the crash were:

• Ernest “Teen” Rawls, 67, Greenville, pilot
• Jeffrey Rawls, 28, Greenville
• Stephanie Fulcher, 42, Sea Level
• Douglas “Hunter” Parks, 45, Sea Level