VENICE, Fla. — Officials in Venice, Florida say four people have died following a plane crash Wednesday night.
The Venice Police Department identified the four people who died as William Jeffrey Lumpkin, 64, the pilot; Ricky Joe Beaver, 60; Patricia Ann Lumpkin, 68; and Elizabeth Anne Beaver, 57.
The four are believed to be two married couples, according to WTVT.
Police say the airplane left the St Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and flew to the Venice Municipal Airport around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The people on the plane met with some friends and had dinner. They left Venice just after 9:30 p.m. and crashed soon after they took off.
Multiple people saw the plane crash and called 911, Venice Police Department Capt. Andy Leisenring said, according to The Associated Press.
The bodies of William Lumpkin and Ricky Beaver were found Wednesday night along with some debris, according to WTVT.
The Piper PA-32R plane was seen just before noon Thursday under about 23 feet of water. Leisenring said that crews had been unable to get to it until they had daylight. According to the AP, crews found the bodies of Elizabeth Anne Beaver and Patricia Ann Lumpkin.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard continued searching the debris field Thursday morning, according to the AP.
The National Transporation Safety Board will be conducting an investigation into the crash and has received video footage from both the airport and the pier, the AP reported. The Federal Aviation Administration has also been notified about the crash.
This is the second plane crash of a plane that has taken off from the Venice Municipal Airport over the last four months, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. The last crash happened in December.