MANATEE Co., Fla. (WWSB) - A small Beechcraft 60 Duke plane crashed just north of State Road 62 in Duette on Saturday. There are no survivors, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The pilot and one passenger died in the crash at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Their identities have not been released. The plane departed from the Sarasota Bradenton Airport around 1:15 p.m.
The plane was found off State Route 37 just north of State Route 62 in a wooded area. The wreckage ignited a wildfire. SR 37 was closed most of the day as a result.
The NTSB has been notified and will be investigating the crash.
David Hayman saw the plane go down. "We just turned around and we saw the plane just nose diving, going straight down," he said. Next thing we knew, we heard that explosion right after. And I ran in to help, but there was nothing left of the wreckage."
=========
Updated:Mar 04 2017 11:48PM EST
DUETTE (FOX 13) - A plane crashed, killing two people and sparking a wildfire in Manatee County Saturday afternoon.
Manatee County investigators say the plane crashed sometime around 1:30 p.m. in the area of Florida State Road 37 and Florida State Road 62.
The Hawker Beechcraft BE-6 took off from the Sarasota Bradenton Airport at 1:15 p.m., but did not file a flight plan. The twin-engine plane was leased from California, but officials could not release the tail number.
2 confirmed dead in Duette plane crash
Heavy smoke could be seen coming from the wooded area where the aircraft crashed and caught fire. Water tankers from Global Contracting are on scene, helping extinguish the flames.
The crash happened about one mile south of a Mosaic-owned property. About 30 acres had burned after the crash, but the fire was 100 percent contained as of 5:45 p.m., according to Manatee officials. Information about the number of people on board was not available. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the cause of the crash.
Date:
| 04-MAR-2017 | |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft 60 Duke |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | |
| C/n / msn: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Manatee County, near Duette, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Sarasota/Bradenton Int'I (KSRQ) |
The aircraft impacted wooded terrain northeast of Duette, Florida, and a post-impact fire ensued. The airplane was partially consumed by fire and the two occupants onboard were fatally injured.
Sources:
http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/breaking-plane-crashes-in-manatee-co-causing-wildfire/article_8f0b49b0-0118-11e7-b0b3-db24c33610fa.html
http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article136460123.html
http://wfla.com/2017/03/04/plane-crashes-causes-wildfire-in-manatee-county/
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/239559984-story
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/manateecounty/twin-engine-plane-crashes-in-manatee/419810806