NTSB: Instructor, prospective student were on ‘introduction’ flight in St. Augustine plane crash

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Investigators are sharing new details following a deadly plane crash Tuesday that killed a prospective student and a flight instructor at Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine.

Two people died during an “introduction” flight, Pete Wentz with the National Transportation Safety Board said. An introduction flight is the student’s first flight to see if they’re interested in learning flying -- these flights typically last 30 minutes.

The prospective student had come off the street that morning and expressed an interest in flying, Wentz said.

Investigators with the NTSB and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) are working to uncover what went wrong.

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Wentz said at this time, it’s not clear if something went wrong with the Cessna, or if the crash was due to human error. Investigators will also look into weather, as well as if there were any calls from the aircraft to the tower.

Officials are not releasing the names of either victim until their next of kin has been notified but say one of the victims is from Jacksonville, while the other is from outside the U.S.

FHP told Action News Jax Wednesday that an official report will likely not be released for another 10 days.

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The NTSB will be writing a final report, which will take 12 to 14 months and in the next 14 days, the NTSB will release preliminary report.

An FHP Traffic Homicide Team is assisting in the mapping out of the crash, everything else is being handled by NTSB, officials say.

Wentz said the recovered aircraft will be sent elsewhere for examinations.

The deadly crash comes less than two weeks after a young flight student and instructor were killed when their fixed wing Cessna crashed into the St. Marys River.

Friends identified the teenage victim from the St. Marys River crash as 18-year-old Alexis George, a standout student from Fernandina Beach who had recently graduated high school and was headed to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the fall on a full scholarship.

NTSB: Crash happened on introductory flight

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