Small plane crash near Florida airport leaves two dead and one hospitalized, cops say

Two people are dead and a third remains hospitalized after a small plane crashed not far from an airport on the Florida Panhandle, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Names of the deceased have not been released.

It happened around 4:19 p.m. Monday, June 6, at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, a hub that serves beach communities along Florida’s western the Gulf Coast, according to a news release. Panama City is about 98 miles southwest of Tallahassee.

Searchers found the Piper PA-28 “just south of the runway.”

The crash happened in a wooded area after the pilot “declared an emergency” and tried returning to the airport, WJHG reported.

An investigation has been launched by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators have not said what may have caused the crash.

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Small plane crash near Florida airport leaves two dead and one hospitalized, cops say."