Bodies Of Pilot, Passenger Found In Northwest Florida

CEDAR KEY - Divers on Sunday recovered the bodies of the two people missing after the small plane they were on crashed in Northwest Florida after taking off from Cedar Key Airport, authorities said.

The bodies of pilot Frank Gonzalez, 48, of Plant City and Julia Kelly, 47, of Solon, Iowa, were found in the fuselage of the plane, said Cedar Key Police Chief Virgil Sandlin.

The body of John Borchard, 43, of Tampa, the owner of produce company JMB Bros., was found Saturday off North Key, Sandlin said. He was the owner of the Cessna 206.

The single-engine plane departed from Cedar Key Airport early Saturday morning for what was scheduled to be a 10-minute flight around the area.

The aircraft is thought to have crashed into the Gulf of Mexico around 12:30 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.

There was no air traffic service or flight plan for the plane.

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 Sandlin.

When the plane touched down at Cedar Key Airport, Kelly and her sister, from Illinois, struck up a conversation with the party, Sandlin said.

Later in the evening, Kelly 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, covering the area 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 about 16 hours after the plane disappeared into the water, Sandlin said.

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

The FAA will be investigating the cause of the crash.