Got a call at the FBO last night from Miami asking if the Cessna was on our ramp (unfortunately it wasn't). Was hoping this was just someone who forgot to close their flight plans (we get calls from time to time inquiring about it) and landed safely somewhere else. I had a feeling I'd find this in the local papers this morning.
4 feared dead in plane crash in Alligator Alley
ALLIGATOR ALLEY - Four people are feared dead in two crashes of training flights in the Everglades, authorities said at a midday press conference today. Whether the crashes are related is not yet known.
Investigators are getting airboats out to the crash site, 2.7 miles southwest of Everglades Holiday Park, said Veda Coleman-Wright, spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office. Earlier, as thick fog blanketed the scene, a civilian team helped prepare airboats for the ongoing search by Sheriff's Office homicide detectives and federal and state investigators.
"It's terrible, I'm sure family members were expecting these four people to return home safely," Coleman-Wright said. "It's unfortunate their adventure turned deadly."
The two planes, a Cessna 172 and a Piper twin-engine, left North Perry Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Saturday for flight training in western Broward County, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. Each plane had two people aboard.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-plane120708,0,4752512.story