Second Florida Plane Crash Within a Month Leaves 2 Indiana Couples Dead

The bodies of two Indiana couples were recovered after a Florida plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, according to police, per WLKY.

Minutes after taking off from Venice Airport, the plane went down in the Gulf of Mexico just west of the city's fishing pier at around 9:30 pm. Venice police held a press conference on Wednesday.

Captain Andy Leisenring of the Venice Police Department claimed several witnesses to the jet crash had dialed 911.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is conducting an inquiry, will receive video footage from the pier and the airport, he added.

Police could only dispatch a dive crew at daybreak, according to Leisenring. The Piper PA-32R was in roughly 23 feet of water at around midday, he added.

Indiana Couples Who Died From Florida Plane Crash Identified

William Jeffrey Lumpkin, 64, the pilot; Patricia Lumpkin, 68; Ricky Joe Beaver, 60; and 57-year-old Elizabeth Anne Beaver, were identified as the victims.

Patricia Lumpkin was a realtor. Bethe Beaver co-owned Indiana Elite Cheer & Tumbling, and Rick Beaver served as president of Beaver Construction Management, FOX 59 noted.

The Lumpkins originated in Fishers, whereas the Beavers settled in Noblesville. Police say there were only four of them on the plane.

The two couples took from St. Petersburg for Venice at around 5 pm on Wednesday, according to Leisenring.

They left the jet at the airport and went to a restaurant on the pier for dinner with their friends. After 9 pm, they returned to the airport and crashed just after 9:30 pm.

Several agencies were still combing the area Thursday morning, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Sarasota Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

4 Dead After Two Small Planes Collide Over Florida Lake

Four people also died following a Florida plane crash in early March. When they collided mid-air, two small planes crashed over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida.

Search and rescue teams were dispatched to Lake Hartridge shortly after the crash was reported, as confirmed by the Winter Haven Police Department.

Two planes crashed over a lake east of Winter Haven Regional Airport around 2 pm Tuesday.

Chief Steve Lester of Polk County said both planes made a beeline for the water. Photos of the rescue efforts in the lake have also been made public.

In a statement, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, "My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed in today's crash." He then asked everyone to keep the victims' families in their thoughts during this challenging time.

The National Transportation Safety Board, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, investigated the event.

Victims include 24-year-old pilot Faith Irene Baker from Winter Haven, 19-year-old Zachary Jean Mace from Polk State College, 67-year-old Randall Elbert Crawford from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and 78-year-old Winter Haven resident Louis C. DeFazio from Fredricksburg, Texas.

One of the aircraft involved in the Florida plane crash was a Piper J-3 Cub seaplane from Jack Brown's Seaplane Base in Winter Haven, Crawford and DeFazio were on that plane.

The other plane was a fixed-wing Cherokee Piper 161 chartered by Polk State College and operated by Sunrise Aviation (Ormond Beach). It was believed that Baker, a flight instructor, and Mace, a student at Polk State College, were on board.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 2 Indiana couples killed in Venice, Florida plane crash - From WTHR