March 9 (UPI) — The five people killed in a plane crash into South Florida’s Lake Okeechobee have been identified Saturday by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The victims, who were pulled by divers from the twin-engine Piper PA-23, commonly known as an Aztec plane, were from South Florida, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Eduardo Mulet, 45, of West Palm Beach, was the pilot and the four passengers were Eric Peterson, 73, of Lighthouse Point; Matthew Fiorello, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens; Heather Bridwell, 43, of Jupiter; and Edwin Mortell III, 54, of Stuart.
The aircraft crashed as it approached Pahokee Airport around 3:30 p.m. from Tampa International Airport. The plane landed about 400 yards from shore in shallow water.
Officials in Tampa told the Sun Sentinel the flight was a charter that had departed from Sheltair Aviation Services.
“I seen it circling. It went around two times,” Laura Lester told WPBF-TV. “And it went up in that corner and it didn’t come back.”
The office’s Violent Crimes Division, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash.