PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will continue their investigation Saturday into a deadly small plane crash in Lake Okeechobee.
Meanwhile, the victims have been identified.
- IDs victims released
- FAA, NTSB and Palm Beach Sheriff's Office investigating crash
- Small plane took off from Tampa, crashed an hour later near Lake Okeechobee
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the victims were identified as Eduardo Mulet, 45, of West Palm Beach, Matthew Fiorello, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens, Heather Bridwell, 43, of Jupiter, Edwin Mortell III, 54, of Stuart, and Eric Peterson, 73, of Lighthouse Point.
Four of the five people who were killed in the crash were lawyers from a South Florida law firm Peterson Bernard. Mulet, not an attorney, was a licensed commercial pilot.
The plane took off Friday from Tampa International Airport at 2:21 p.m.
The crash occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. while the plane was on approach to Pahokee Airport, also known as Palm Beach County Glades Airport, according to the FAA.
Heather Bridwell's husband told the newspaper that the lawyers were returning from a meeting with a client when the crash took place.
Weather is not believed to be a factor.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, marine unit deputies and rescue workers recovered the bodies from the plane's fuselage several hours after the Friday afternoon crash.
Officials say the twin-engine Piper PA 23 250 fixed-wing aircraft went down about 400 yards from the giant lake's southeast shore, just north of the Pahokee Airport. The plane had six seats and two engines.
The sheriff's office also is investigating the crash and purpose of the plane trip.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.