Federal Aviation Administration officials said the Connection 900 plane went down in Lake Harney near the Volusia-Seminole county line around 11:30 a.m. Friday.
The pilot was identified as Kamalesh Naik, 56, of Sanford. The two passengers were identified as Men Tao, 22, and Hou Xupeng, 23, both Chinese nationals who were staying in Sanford.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
The FAA said the aircraft was on its way to Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Investigators found what appeared to be a plane seat.
George Tanner was fishing on his boat when he heard about the crash.
“They first approached me to ask if I had seen a low-flying plane because they were still looking for the crash site, but I didn’t hear anything,” Tanner said.
Commercial Training Solutions, which owned the plane involved, released the following statement:
“Commercial Training Solutions can confirm that a King Air aircraft that crashed in Lake Harney, Florida, this morning involved one of our employees and two trainees. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this tragedy. We are awaiting updates from local authorities on developments around this incident, and will cooperate fully with the FAA and the NTSB in the ongoing investigation. No further information is available at this time."
This forensics team was looking at what appears to be a seat and a reflective vest at Lake Harney #WFTV pic.twitter.com/CvZYqmYASH
— Michael Lopardi (@MLopardiWFTV) December 8, 2017
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