Plane Crashes at Florida Airport After Takeoff Failure, Killing Passengers

A plane crash in Florida has killed two people and critically injured another two, according to reports.

Lieutenant William ‘Randy’ McCroan, a helicopter pilot with the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office as well as being a school resource officer, and Steve Mears Jr. were the two men killed in the crash at Calhoun County Airport on Tuesday afternoon, local media quoted Calhoun County Sheriff Glenn Kimbrel as saying.

Two other men on board were life-flighted, in critical condition, to Tallahassee Medical Hospital, WCTV reported.

Twitter page Florida Police Scanner said in a tweet that “2 possibly 3 have died after a plane crash at Calhoun County Airport earlier this afternoon.”

“Another was listed as critical. The plane was a personal plane with 4 adults on board.”

In a follow up tweet, the Twitter page said that the Sheriff Kimbrel had named the individuals involved in the crash.

“Sheriff Kimbrel confirming Tuesday night that Steve Mears Junior and Lieutenant William ‘Randy’ McCroan died in that crash,” the tweet said.

“The sheriff said Lieutenant McCroan worked as a school resource officer and helicopter pilot for the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.”

In another tweet, the Twitter page said the other two passengers were in a critical condition. They also said that Sheriff Kimbrel said that it is unclear if McCroan was piloting the plane when it crashed.

Sheriff Kimbrel said the Cessna 172 four-seater plane took off from the Calhoun County Airport and crashed around 4:40 p.m. central time on Tuesday, according to a WCTV report. He also told News Channel 7 that the crash happened as the plane was taking off.

Kimbrell also said that an investigation is now underway by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).

Last month, Newsweek reported on another plane crash that resulted in the deaths of its passengers.

There were no survivors found after a small plane crashed at a General Mills facility outside of Atlanta.

The crash occurred in Covington, Georgia, a small town about 30 miles east of Atlanta, on April 21, according to the FAA. Few details were available about the deaths, injuries or extent of the damage, as federal investigators probed the crash.

Kelsey Roemhildt, spokeswoman for General Mills, told Newsweek in a statement that a small plane crashed “near” the facility and that no employees were harmed. The company is working with police and the FAA, she said.

Captain Ken Malcolm told CBS affiliate WGCL that a small Cessna plane crashed about a half mile from the runway of the Covington Airport.