Two People Dead, One Missing After Flight Crashes In Gulf Of Mexico

Two people are dead and one person is missing after a plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend.

The Piper Cherokee, a single-engine Piper PA-28 plane, carrying three people was returning to St. Petersburg, Florida, and crashed into the ocean shortly after it tookoff from the Venice Municipal Airport in Florida on Saturday, Dec. 3. The victims, who are believed to be a family, had traveled to Venice for dinner on Saturday in the aircraft they rented out of St. Petersburg and was reportedly returning back home when the crash occurred, NBC News reported.

After the aircraft failed to return to its origin airport in St. Petersburg on time, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) asked Venice police to check with the airport for the overdue airplane and an investigation was launched the next day around 10 a.m.

According to Venice Police Department Chief Charlie Thorpe, there was no mayday call, and no calls about the crash were made to authorities at the time.

Meanwhile, recreational boaters found the floating body of an adult woman in the Gulf about 2.5 miles west of Venice Beach. An aircrew from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office also spotted the plane's wreckage about a third of a mile offshore in about 15 feet of water. Following the discovery, SCSO divers searched the damaged aircraft for the missing passengers and found a teenager, a 14-year-old girl, dead inside, People reported.

The third occupant of the plane, a 42-year-old man, is still missing as of midday Monday. Thorpe said the man has been identified as the pilot of the aircraft.

Officials are searching an area about five square miles in size located just south of where the plane was found hoping to find the missing man. An investigation into the crash is underway. According to the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation regarding the crash.

The U.S. Coast Guard, along with help from the Sarasota Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the District 12 Medical Examiner's Office are all assisting with the search and the crash scene.