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Frederick Gautzsch and Robert Chartrand ID'd as victims of Dania Beach plane crash

Posted at 5:10 PM, Sep 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-07 18:36:49-04

A Boca Raton man and a man from Canada were identified as the victims of a plane crash Saturday in Dania Beach, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Frederick Gautzsch, Jr., 73, of Boca Raton and Robert Chartrand, 66, of LaSalle, Quebec left Pompano Beach Airpark in a Cessna 172 for a private airport in Key Largo, the sheriff's office said.

They crashed about one mile north of the Dania Beach Pier.

The sheriff's office said both men were pilots but Gautzsch was at the controls.

An oil slick and submerged plane were spotted around 10:30 a.m. and two bodies were located near the wreckage around 10:50 a.m.

Both men died on impact, investigators said. Their bodies were found about 200 yards north of the crash site.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.

A cause and manner of death will be released by the Broward County Medical Examiner who conducted autopsies on the men.