DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Two people who died over the weekend after their plane crashed off Dania Beach were identified Wednesday as Frederick Gautzsch Jr., 73, of Boca Raton, and Robert Chartrand, 66, of LaSalle, Quebec.
Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the men left Pompano Beach Airpark Saturday morning in a single-engine Cessna that was rented from Paul Kramer's Learn to Fly Center.
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Gautzsch was flying the plane to the Ocean Reef Club's Private Airport in Key Largo when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean just before 10 a.m.
Jachles said the plane crashed about one mile north of the Dania Beach Pier, and just east of the south runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Jachles said the men, who were both pilots, were found floating in the ocean about 200 yards north of the crash site, and both had died upon impact.
He said the plane was found about 200 yards offshore in about 20 feet of water.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.