Small plane crash-lands on Florida beach, killing beachgoer

USPA News - A small plane crash-landed on a beach in the U.S. state of Florida on Sunday afternoon, killing a man who was walking on the beach with his children, local officials said. One of the children was injured and airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

The incident happened at around 2:45 p.m. local time when the pilot of a single-engine 1976 Piper PA-28 Cherokee aircraft sent out a distress call to Venice Municipal Airport in Sarasota County. He told air traffic control he was unable to make it back to the airport and said he would instead attempt an emergency landing at Caspersen Beach, which is about 1.5 mile (2.4 kilometers) from the airport. Wendy Rose, a spokeswoman for the Sarasota County Sheriff`s Office, said the small plane struck two persons on the beach as the aircraft came down. "A man and one of his children who were walking on the beach were apparently injured by the plane. That man is deceased," she said. The man`s daughter was airlifted to All Children`s Hospital in St. Petersburg and was said to be in a critical condition, Rose added. The pilot and his passenger were not injured in the crash-landing, which caused only minor damage to the aircraft itself. Federal records showed the aircraft is registered to a man in nearby Englewood. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the aircraft was believed to have lost power prior to the crash landing, but said it would investigate the exact causes of the crash. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were also en-route to the site.