Crime and Public Safety | 2 men found dead a day after their plane took off from North Perry, crashed in Everglades

Two men died when their small plane crashed in the Florida Everglades in western Broward County only minutes after taking off from North Perry Airport, officials said Wednesday.

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue found the wreckage of the single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk floating in the water on the north side of Alligator Alley near Mile Marker 28 a little after 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to Battalion Chief Michael Kane.

But the plane went missing Tuesday evening.

The plane’s N-number is N737VC, Kane confirmed. It took off from North Perry Airport about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, and crashed 13 minutes later after quickly losing altitude a few minutes into the flight.

The company operating the plane reported it missing over 15 hours later, about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, likely because it was closed for the night and only discovered it the next day, Kane said. First responders then searched for the wreckage by airboat and found the plane about 45 minutes later.

Broward Sheriff’s Office Weston district deputies also responded and Homicide Unit and Crime Scene detectives are investigating the crash, according to a media release.

The plane had broken apart when it hit the ground, Kane said. There was also a small fire, though it was unclear whether the fire began before or after the plane crashed.

The Cessna Skyhawk seats four people, but the two men were the only occupants found at the scene. Both appeared to have been dead for some time, Kane said.

The plane is registered to Florida General Aviation LLC, which operates out of North Perry, according to FAA and state business records. The registered director of the business said “no comment right now,” when contacted Wednesday afternoon.

The fatal crash is the first of 2024 but among several in the last few years. Last August, a Cessna 172 crashed at the airport, killing a flight instructor and one passenger and injuring a second passenger.

Last May, two planes crashed after taking off from the airport a week apart from one another. On May 17, the pilot of a banner towing plane crashed in a shopping plaza in Hollywood and died. On May 25, the pilot of another banner plane crashed at the airport and survived.

Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board were traveling to the site of the crash Wednesday, a spokesperson said in an email, and will arrive Thursday to investigate.