The bodies of two men and two women have been found following a horror plane crash when their aircraft plunged into the sea off the coast of Florida.
In a press conference, Venice Police said the four killed, which included two married couples, were on board the plane when it crashed half a mile off Venice Fishing Pier. The small plane had taken off from Venice Airport when it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico west of the city’s fishing pier around 9:30 pm on Wednesday.
Also Read | Mick Mars: Net worth, age, wife Seraina Schonenberger, career, family and more
The pilot was identified as William Geoffrey Lumpkin, 64, and the other victims, Patricia Anne Lumpkin, 68, Ricky Joe Beaver, 60, and Elizabeth Anne Beaver, 57. The four were the only passengers on the plane.
The Beavers were from Noblesville, Indiana, and the Lumpkins were from Fishers, Indiana.
Rescue teams recovered debris from the crashed plane and the bodies of William Geoffrey Lumpkin and Ricky Joe Beaver on Wednesday night.
The bodies of the two women, Patricia Anne Lumpkin and Elizabeth Anne Beaver, were found on Thursday alongside the main body of the plane.
Also Read | Who was Nora Forster? Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten’s wife dies at 80 after battling with Alzheimer’s
Venice police Captain Andy Leisenring said the four passengers left St Petersburg and flew to Venice around 5 pm. They parked the plane at the airport and had dinner at a restaurant on the pier. They came back to the airport after 9 pm and crashed shortly after 9:30 pm.
Teams from the US Coast Guard, Florida Fish, and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office were continuing to search the debris field Thursday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have also been notified. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Venice is around 58 miles south of St Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
In December, a couple and their daughter had died in a similar crash off Venice.
