FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Authorities have identified five people believed killed in a small plane crash off the coast of South Florida but on Sunday had not named three others who died in a plane crash off the Florida Keys.
The crash off Fort Lauderdale happened Saturday. Authorities lost contact with the Piper Aztec plane at about 9:20 a.m. while it was on its way from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to Andros Island, Bahamas.
Rescue crews spotted debris in the ocean about 17 miles east of Fort Lauderdale on Saturday but found no survivors Saturday night, Coast Guard Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson said.
The plane was registered to Glen Quackenbush, of Plantation, according to Kathleen Bergen, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. Quackenbush was piloting the plane, and passengers were identified by the Coast Guard as Troy Taylor, Michael Gross, Michael Levofsky and Mark Santa, all of Broward.
Less than 12 hours before Saturday's crash, a small plane hit a wire tethering a blimp and crashed off the Florida Keys. The blimp is used by the federal government to monitor suspected drug flights and other potentially harmful activity. It did not appear to be damaged.
Officials said they were still notifying family members of the individuals killed in that crash. An official at the Florida Highway Patrol said Sunday that three people had died in the crash.
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