(Source: United States Coast Guard)
Reporting Tim Kephart
End Of An Era
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators say a single engine plane took off from a private air strip near Tavernier Creek on Plantation Key and crashed just minutes after it left the ground Friday evening.
The plan, a 1946 Piper Club, was piloted by Brett Ekblom and only had one passer, Mike Strutton from Tavernier. Both told FWC investigators that right after the plane left the ground; they lost lift and tried to immediately turn back to the airstrip.
But, as the plane was turning, it continued to descend and crashed into the mangroves roughly 50 yards off Tavernier Creek. Both Ekblom and Strutton made it out of the plane and through the mangroves without being injured.
The FWC said it was still investigating the crash.
