DAYTONA BEACH — Investigators were on the scene Tuesday of a small plane crash that killed two people after take off from Daytona Beach International Airport.
The single-engine plane, a Cessna 172 from Phoenix East Aviation, crashed and burst into flames about 10 p.m. in a field west of Clyde Morris Boulevard near Bellevue Avenue, Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.
According to a witness at the airport, it sounded like the plane’s engine failed shortly after it took off about 9:55 p.m.
The plane crashed as it turned to make it back to the runway, Chitwood said, relaying the witness account.
The two people killed, whose names had not been released, were the only ones on board, Chitwood said
A flight student and instructor died in a Phoenix East Cessna 172S crash into the ocean near Bethune Beach on Feb. 16, 2011.
The engine in the Cessna 172S that crashed on Feb. 16, killing two people.
The bodies of flight student Gustav Granholm, 21, and instructor William Bloch, 28, were found in the ocean three days after the crash. Granholm and Bloch were Norwegian natives who lived locally. They were returning to the area from Sarasota and practicing training maneuvers about 200 yards offshore and just south of Bethune Park.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.