DUETTE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say two people are dead after their twin-engine plane crashed in the Tampa Bay area.
Manatee County Public Safety Director Bob Smith told the Bradenton Herald the crash Saturday sparked a wildfire before emergency responders could reach the wreckage.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said both victims’ bodies were recovered from a wooded area of northeastern Manatee County. Authorities haven’t released the victims’ names.
Warren said the Hawker Beechcraft BE-60 was registered in California. The plane had departed from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport about a half-hour before a witness called 911 about the crash.
Duette resident David Hayman said he was in his backyard when he saw the plane nose-diving. He said he heard an explosion, and the wreckage was engulfed in flames by the time he could reach it.
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