PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – Two people have been found dead after a small plane crashed into the St. Johns River in southern Putnam County, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
Just around midnight, sheriff's deputies found the second body of a person who may have been on board the single-engine, 10-passenger plane. That plane crashed about 7:30 p.m. near Fort Gates Ferry Road in Crescent City -- less than two miles west of Mt. Royal Airport, a private runway.
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Florida Highway Patrol officials said the plane landed upside down in the river, WJXT-TV reported.
"That's not unusual for a light aircraft that has fixed landing gear," said News4Jax's Sam Kouvaris, a Federal Aviation Administration-certified pilot. "As soon as the landing gear touches the water, it flips upside down."
He said there are typically two causes of small plane crashes: Pilot error or a mechanical issue.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to take over the investigation.