MARATHON, Fla. – A small plane that crashed after taking off from a Florida Keys airport was involved in another crash in Georgia in 2012, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Piper PA 32 crashed Thursday afternoon, shortly after it left the Florida Keys Marathon International Airport.
Authorities identified the pilot of the small plane as Roch D'Aoust, 65, of Panama City Beach, and the passengers as Derrick Kelley, 53, Danny Gilileo, 49, both of Auburndale, and Tony Lewis, 60, of Lakeland.
One of the passengers told the Florida Highway Patrol that the plane was blown away by strong wind gusts, causing it to crash.
About 90 gallons of fuel spilled from the plane as a result of the crash.
D'Aous, Kelley and Gilileo were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center and Jackson South Medical Center. Lewis suffered minor injuries.
The same plane was involved in a crash in Swainsboro, Georgia, on Feb. 17, 2012. NTSB investigators blamed the crash on pilot error.