Two Indiana couples die in plane crash off the coast of Venice, Florida

Claire Thornton and Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, USA TODAY NETWORK
·2 min read
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A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over the Venice Fishing Pier Thursday morning as emergency crews search a debris field in the Gulf of Mexico after a small airplane crash Wednesday night. The bodies of two men in their 50s-60s have been recovered.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over the Venice Fishing Pier Thursday morning as emergency crews search a debris field in the Gulf of Mexico after a small airplane crash Wednesday night. The bodies of two men in their 50s-60s have been recovered.

Four Indiana residents are dead following a Wednesday night plane crash off of Florida's west coast, authorities said.

Around 10 p.m., police in Venice, Florida, responded to reports of a plane crash near the Venice Fishing Pier, police captain Andy Leisenring said at a press conference Thursday morning.

Emergency crews found and identified the bodies of two male victims shortly after the crash, Leisenring said, and two female victims were found Thursday.

The pilot was Jeff Lumpkin, 64, of Fishers, Indiana. The other male victim was Rick Beaver, 60, of Noblesville, Indiana. A dive team discovered the bodies of two women believed to be Patty Lumpkin, 68, and Bethe Beaver, 57, in 23 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico.

"We've been in contact with the victims' families," Leisenring said. "And certainly our hearts go out to them as they deal with this tragedy."

Why did the plane crash?

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, police said. Video footage from the pier and from a local airport is being reviewed.

Police said the group had flown to Venice from St. Petersburg, Florida, around 5 p.m. Wednesday. After meeting friends for dinner near the pier, they returned to a local airport, paid a parking fee and prepared to fly back to St. Petersburg at 9:30 p.m.

Soon afterward, the plane crashed a half-mile from the pier in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said.

"Gut-wrenching. Gut-wrenching. What else can we say?" airport director Mark Cervasio said when he learned of the crash.

The accident comes four months after a different plane crash along the Venice coast killed three people.

Leisenring called it “unusual” to have two plane crashes occur in that short period of time but said it was too early to conclude whether or not there was a connection between them.

The NTSB has reported that lack of visibility while leaving the airport led to a lack of "discernable horizon" during takeoff as part of the investigation of the December plane crash.

Responding to questions Thursday about the cause of the latest crash, Cervasio said, “Once the airplane’s in flight, they're under the purview of the FAA flight standards.“

"Our responsibility under our purview is to make sure that the airport and facility that we have are under good condition and safe to use," he added.

The Associated Press contributed.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Venice, Florida, plane crash kills four Indiana residents