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2 killed in plane crash at Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana

WPTV Chopper 5 video shows single-engine Cessna 172 smashed up next to runway
The wreckage of a small plane crash at Palm Beach County Park Airport near Lantana on May 26, 2023.jpg
Posted at 11:42 AM, May 26, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-27 13:27:36-04

LANTANA, Fla. — Two people are dead after a small plane crashed Friday at Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrived at the crash site just before 11:30 a.m. and found two people dead inside the aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane involved was a single-engine Cessna 172.

Aerial video from WPTV Chopper 5 showed the plane cut in half and badly smashed up in a grassy area next to a runway, not far from the Lake Osborne campground.

A National Transportation Safety Board a investigator arrived in the area Friday night and began the on-scene work at the site Saturday morning, a media relations staff member told WPTV in an inquiry.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue has not confirmed any additional information, only saying the agency responded to an incident involving a small plane.

RELATED: Lantana airport linked to several crashes in last decade

Two men were killed in March when a single-engine plane crashed in a field at Palm Beach County Park Airport.

The sheriff's office said John Holland IV, 43, of Delray Beach, and Michael Marshall Jr., 34, of Boca Raton, died when a Diamond DA40 went down just before 9:30 p.m. March 5 in a field about 1,000 feet from a runway.

Safety assessment requested for Lantana airport

Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss told WPTV's Tania Rogers that a safety assessment had already been requested for the Lantana airport prior to Friday's crash.

"We have contacted the FAA in that regard, so that was already in process before this occurred, and so maybe this will shed additional light," Weiss said.