Coastal plane crash kills 2
Distress calls received, but cause not yet known
Two people were killed in a plane crash off the Dania Beach coast Saturday morning, authorities said.
First responders found the downed small plane and the bodies of two people, according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles.
The wreckage was found about 200 yards offshore, submerged in about 40 feet of water, he said. The agency’s firerescue units at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were notified of the downed plane minutes before 10 a.m.
A BSO helicopter found the wreckage near the coastline where an oil slick and debris had become visible from the air, Jachles said. Within minutes, two bodies were spotted north of the wreckage, he said.
Authorities continued search and rescue efforts while attempting to learn whether more passengers had been aboard the four-occupant aircraft before crashing, Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Kelley of the U.S. Coast Guard said.
By about 1:45 p.m., officials confirmed there had been two only people on board
and ceased rescue operations. The identities of the victims were not immediately known.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen described the aircraft as a Cessna 172 that was flying south along Broward County’s shoreline.
Officials said the aircraft left Pompano Beach Airpark at about 8:30 a.m. and multiple distress calls came in shortly before 10 a.m., according to Kelley. Authorities did not say what caused the plane’s occupants to call for help.
Details of the plane’s flight plan, or where it was registered, were unknown.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue also assisted in rescue efforts by land, water and air. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crash.
“It’s a tough day for any agency to come and address the media obviously on a fatality,” Kelley said. “Our hearts go out to the families of these victims.”