Two killed when small plane crashes at Lantana airport
LANTANA — Two people died Friday morning when a small plane crashed at Palm Beach County Park Airport near Lantana, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reports.
Authorities did not immediately disclose the names of those who were in the aircraft, which went down in the airport's northwest section along Congress Avenue north of Lantana Road.
Deputies responded shortly after 11:15 a.m. to a report of a crash and found the two people dead inside the aircraft, PBSO said. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the plane was a single-engine Cessna 172. Investigators did not make its tail number — a registration mark used to identify the plane's owners — available Friday afternoon.
It was not immediately clear if the plane was taking off or landing when the crash occurred.
'A devastating loss': Pilot who died in March 5 crash left new wife, child on the way
The National Transportation Safety Board said an investigator is traveling to South Florida and will began its investigation at the airport Saturday morning.
According to a statement from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, the wreck caused a fire, which crews brought under control just before 11:30 a.m.
Detectives from PBSO's Violent Crimes Division went to the scene Friday morning to begin the preliminary investigation, but the NTSB will lead the probe and is expected to release a preliminary report in two to three weeks.
A full report on the cause of Friday's crash likely will take the agency several months to complete.
The crash is the second this year at the airport, which sits 7 miles south of Palm Beach International Airport. A popular destination for small planes and charter flights, the Lantana airfield has been in use since the 1940s.
John Holland, 43, of Delray Beach and Michael Marshall Jr., 34 , of Boca Raton died when their Diamond DA40 crashed late on March 5.
Holland worked for Palm Beach County-based Aamro Aviation and had traveled to Kentucky to pick up a new plane recently purchased by the company. Holland was piloting the plane and Marshall was aboard as part of his training to become a pilot.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him atjwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Small plane crashes at Lantana airport killing two people on board
