Flight instructor, passenger killed in small plane crash in Volusia County
LAKE MARY, Fla. - A flight instructor and passenger were killed this week in a plane crash in a wooded area of Volusia County.
The FAA said the single-engine MX Aircraft MX2 took off from Spruce Creek Fly-in Airport around 4:30 p.m.
The aircraft was located by the Sheriff's Office Air One helicopter in Osteen, near Pell Rd. and Ashby Ln. around 7 p.m.
The single-engine MX Aircraft MX2 took off from Spruce Creek Fly-in Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. and reportedly sent an emergency signal to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, according to Volusia County Sheriff's Office. The crash was reported around 6 p.m., and VCSO's Air One helicopter located the wreckage in a wood area around 7 p.m., near Lopez Road in Osteen.
Authorities initially said Wednesday night that one person had died and was believed to have been the sole person aboard.
"Because the downed airplane was heavily damaged and upside down, and it was impossible to immediately confirm the number of occupants. It was initially believed only one person was on board, but it was later reported that two people (a flight instructor and passenger) were in the plane," VSO said in a press release.
Authorities have not identified the instructor or the passenger. It's also unclear if the passenger was a student or not.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. Details on what led to the crash are not yet known.
THe NTSB said the plane was on an aerobatic training flight. An investigator responded to the scene to document the scene, examine the plane, and gather other information such as air traffic communications, radar data and weather reports.
Fuerza Aerea del Peru, the Peru Air Force, released an official notice about the crash. It said the two people board the plane were doing a training exercise.
SECOND PLANE CRASH IN A WEEK
This is the second small aircraft to crash in Central Florida in less than a week. A pilot had to make an emergency landing on an Orlando-area roadway last week because he ran out of fuel and did not have enough to make it back to the airport.
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Remy Colin had just taken off for a test flight from Orlando Executive Airport, as part of a regular maintenance check. But the experienced pilot says he didn't realize how little fuel he had. The single-engine Cessna was in flight for about five minutes before it crash-landed, according to FlightAware, which records flight data. Colin was the only one aboard, and emergency officials say no one on the ground was hurt.