Coast Guard: 2 dead after plane crashes near Ft. Lauderdale coast

Authorities say 2 pilots, 2 passengers on board plane

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two people are dead after the Coast Guard says a small plane crashed three miles off of Fort Lauderdale's coast Tuesday night.

Multiple agencies searched for two other people who the FAA said were also on board the aircraft. As of early Wednesday morning, they had not been found.

According to a statement released by the FAA, a Mexican-registered Learjet 35 aircraft that departed from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport went down in the Atlantic Ocean around 8 p.m.

A Coast Guard representative confirmed that two bodies were found among the debris around 8:45 p.m.

The FAA said two pilots and two passengers were on board the small plane. FAA notified the Coast Guard that the plane went down. It took rescuers 45 minutes to find the debris field.

By 5 a.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said the debris field had extended 20 square miles.

LISTEN: Plane crash audio from WPBF

More than 50 rescuers participated in the search and recovery operation.

The medical flight, with a medical crew on board, was heading for Cozumel, Mexico, authorities said.

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Wreckage of the plane that crashed off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is brought aboard a Coast Guard boat Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Search and rescue crews from the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and local police and fire rescue departments continue to search for possible survivors. (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard).