A small plane crashed in Indian River County Tuesday morning, according to the sheriff's office.
It went down in a wooded area south of Vero Lakes Estates and the sheriff's office needed the Division of Forestry to clear the area so investigators could get to the scene.
The sheriff's office said the plane originated in Vero Beach and was bound for Pahokee. Contact with the aircraft was lost around 11:30 a.m. A helicopter with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office located the wreckage about 3 p.m.
Officials said the student pilot was the only fatality.
The pilot held a student pilot certificate issued on May 15, 2018.
A review of the student pilot's logbook revealed she was not endorsed by her instructor for the flight on the day of the accident.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the crash.
The Flight Safety Academy released the following statement:
The entire flight academy is deeply sadden by this said the school’s VP of communications. Steve Phillips.
• We have reached out to the family & expressed our condolences.
• We are cooperating with local authorities, NTSB, and FAA
• Pilot was on a solo training flight and they are unaware of what happened
• Planes are inspected before each flight and he is confident in the craft’s performance