Search continues for pilot of plane that crashed into Gulf of Mexico near Venice
The search continued Monday for the pilot of a plane that crashed into the Gulf Mexico Saturday night just west of the Venice fishing pier.
The 42-year-old man had rented the single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee in St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon, and the family of three flew to Venice for dinner.
But they never made it back to St. Petersburg.
Just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the Piper Cherokee took off from Venice Municipal Airport and crashed just after takeoff about a third of a mile west into the Gulf of Mexico.
The crash went unreported until Sunday, with no mayday calls coming from the plane or 911 calls made about the crash. Weather was clear on Saturday with many people and first responders at the annual Venice Christmas Boat Parade.
Just after 10 a.m. Sunday, however, some recreational boaters and divers who were about 2 1/2 miles off the coast found the body of an adult woman, Venice Police Chief Charlie Thorpe said in a news briefing on Monday morning.
“At the same time we received information from the FAA that we should look for an overdue aircraft here at the business airport,” Thorpe said. “With that, we begin search efforts to locate the missing aircraft.”
At about 2 p.m., a Sarasota County Sheriff Office helicopter spotted the plane — which was found in about 15 feet of water. Inside the plane was the body of a 12-year-old girl.
Horpe initially said that the girl was 14 years old, but the police department later corrected the age.
On Monday, search efforts continued on finding the 42-year-old pilot.
The search area is about five square miles, just south of where the plane was found, Thorpe said. That area was calculated based on tide, water current and weather conditions.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading investigation of crash, a standard protocol, but the search for the pilot has been a joint effort by the Venice Police Department, Sarasota Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Venice Fire Department, Sarasota Police Department and U.S. Coast Guard.
In a Facebook message to Venice police, one person reported that they were on the pier Saturday night and saw the plane, but turned around and then heard a loud noise. But they did not realize until hearing the news that it was a plane crash.
Airport Director Mark Cervasio said the loss of a plane that used his airport is painful.
“Anytime you lose one of your own, it hurts,” Airport Director Mark Cervasio said .”Thankfully we haven’t had many incidents. I have been here 6 1/2 years and we haven’t had a fatality.”
