SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Four people were killed when their small plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near Venice.

According to the FAA, the Piper PA-32R plane crashed just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday about a half-mile from the Venice Fishing Pier. The plane went down just moments after taking off from Venice Municipal Airport.

Crews recovered the bodies of two men in their 50s and 60s. They have been identified as pilot William Jeffrey Lumpkin, 64, of Fishers, Ind., and passenger Ricky Joe Beaver, 60, of Noblesville, Ind.

At 11:56 a.m. Thursday, divers located the main portion of the aircraft, a single-engine Piper PA-32R, as well as the bodies of two females believed to be the males’ spouses – Patricia Ann Lumpkin, 68, also of Fishers, and Elizabethe Anne Beaver, 57, of Noblesville.

The wreckage is at a depth of approximately 23 feet. 

Officials said the airplane left an airport in St. Petersburg and flew to Venice Airport, arriving around 5 p.m. The occupants met with friends and then left Venice Airport at approximately 9:35 p.m.

The crash is under investigation.

This is the second fatal plane crash in just a few months out of the same airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating a crash that killed a family of three in December 2022.

That plane crashed shortly after taking off.