Two men died Wednesday afternoon after the small plane they were in crashed into a muddy lake at North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport, officials said.
The Piper PA28 departed a runway at North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport, at 11600 Aviation Road, and crashed into a “marsh area” at the end of the runway, said Sarah Taylor Sulick, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board.
The airplane crashed shortly after 2 p.m, and the men had been removed from the water by shortly after 3:30 p.m, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Teri Barbera said.
Both of the men were pronounced dead once they arrived at the hospital, Barbera said shortly before 8 p.m. Their identities were not released.
When the plane entered the muddy lake, one of the wings or part of the plane’s tail was ripped off, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Tom Reyes told reporters at the scene. First responders found the plane split into at least two pieces.
Deputies on a Sheriff’s Office helicopter spotted the body of the plane underwater, and the two people were found inside the submerged plane, Reyes said.
Both people were taken ashore in the helicopter’s rescue basket and then taken to a trauma center, the fire department said in an email.
Rescue divers trudged through knee- and waist-high mud for as much as 20 feet before reaching water deep enough to swim, Reyes said. The plane was in about 20 feet of water, he said, but he did not know how deep the lake is.
An NTSB investigator was expected to be at the crash site by Thursday, Barbera said.
The airport is west of Palm Beach Gardens and about 20 miles northwest of West Palm Beach. It is positioned off Bee Line Highway, near the Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area. Maps show several ponds on the airport property.
The north county airport was closed about 3:30 p.m., said Nicole Hughes, spokesperson for Palm Beach International Airport.
Multiple businesses operate out of the airport, including fixed-wing and helicopter flight schools, according to the airport’s website.
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