Small plane crashes off Florida coast after losing communication

23:10 - 25 May 2019

A Cessna plane bound for Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport crashed Friday evening more than 300 miles off the coast of Florida after air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane and it was approached by fighter jets, the authorities said.

The pilot of the Cessna Citation V is believed to be the only person who was on the plane, which had departed the St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois, around 3:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The FAA said that the aircraft was out of communication for more than one hour, and was “intercepted” by F-15s “shortly before it went down” about 6 p.m.

It is unclear how the fighter jets and the Cessna interacted. Intercepting means that one aircraft flies close to another.