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Businessman Killed In Small Plane Crash

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

Updated: 06/07/2008 10:34 pm

The body of a Plant City businessman was found in the wreckage of a single-engine plane crash Saturday afternoon off Cedar Key.

John M. Borchard, 43, was one of three aboard the single-engine Cessna 206 when it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Cedar Key police.

The Coast Guard plans to continue its search for the two others today. Their names were not released.

The plane originally left Plant City Airport on Friday evening with six people aboard — the pilot, the plane's owner and two young couples, according to Interim Cedar Key Police Chief Virgil Sandlin.

When the plane touched down at Cedar Key Airport, two sisters, one from Illinois and the other from Iowa, struck up a conversation with the party, Sandlin said.

Later in the evening, the woman from Iowa took off with Borchard and the pilot for what authorities say was meant to be a 10-minute trip.

The three never returned.

The Federal Aviation Administration declared the plane overdue about 2 a.m. and called the Coast Guard.

An HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater launched at 3:30 a.m., along with a 27-foot rescue boat from Coast Guard Station Yankeetown in Levy County.

The search was joined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office over an area extending from Rattlesnake Key to 37 miles south of Cedar Key.

A fisherman found Borchard's body floating about a mile from the west end of Cedar Key Airport, 16 hours after the plane disappeared into the water, Sandlin said.

The fuselage was found nearby by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office dive team.

The cause of the crash was not known late Saturday.

Cedar Key Police identified Borchard as the owner of the single-engine Cessna 206, which is registered to California-based Capital Holdings 150 LLC of Santa Barbara. Police used driver's license records to identify him as living in Plant City.

When reached for comment, Borchard's ex-wife Kris said he lived in Tampa and had a business in Plant City. Records show he is president of JMB Bros. Inc., a produce company.

Sandlin said the identities of the pilot and other passenger would not be released until the search ended and relatives were notified.

Information from the Gainesville Sun reporter Karen Voyles was used in this report. Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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