A New Jersey couple died after their small plane crashed about 18 miles off the Cape Elizabeth coast Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The couple were identified by the Coast Guard as Edward and Maryann Mainardi. According to Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker, the couple was flying from Millinocket to Caldwell, N.J., at about 8,000 feet, when their Cessna 337 Skymaster disappeared from radar and lost contact with the Brunswick Naval Air Station at about 1:07 p.m. The air station notified the Coast Guard at about 1:30 p.m.

A Coast Guard plane located wreckage of the Cessna at about 4 p.m. and recovered the couple’s bodies several hours later.

Lt. Lisa Tinker, command center chief at the Coast Guard Center for northern New England, said the Coast Guard was not made aware of any distress calls and that the plane was flying according to its flight plan.

Tinker said the Maine Marine Patrol participated in the search, as well as several “Good Samaritans” responding to the Coast Guard’s “urgent marine information broadcast.”

“We really appreciate the response from our local partners in this incident,” she said. “This is a very tragic outcome and our hearts go out to … (the victims’) family and friends.”

The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Administration, which investigates all fatal plane crashes. Luke Schiada, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, said the NTSB will issue a preliminary report on the crash by the end of next week and a final report within six to nine months.

He said there were no known witnesses and the small Cessna would not have had an on-board communications or data recorder.