A father walking with his daughter on a Florida beach was killed when a small plane crash landed on the shore, the Associated Press reported.
The Piper Cherokee aircraft went down Sunday on the Gulf Coast near Venice Beach as 36-year-old Ommy Irizarry and his 9-year-old daughter Oceana were walking along the sand. Irizarry was killed at the scene and his daughter was airlifted to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg with severe injuries.
Another woman walking with the family was treated for cardiac arrest at Venice Regional Bayfront Health, the AP reported. Her name and relationship to the victims was not released.
The plane's pilot, Karl Kokomoor, and his passenger David Theen were not harmed during the crash landing. Kokomoor, 57, sent a distress call to Venice Municipal Airport a little after 2:30 p.m. saying the plane would not be able to make it to the airport.
"They were contacted by the pilot whose small plane was in distress," Sarasota County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Wendy Rose told the AP. "He knew he couldn't make it back to the airport and was going to try to land on the beach. And he did land at the edge of the water on the beach."
Photographs from the scene show a small, white plane inches from the water with its nose barely touching the sand and one wing reaching out over the waves.
It was not immediately clear how the victim died, but the father and daughter were either struck by the plane or its debris, according to the AP. The 9-year-old is reportedly in critical condition.
A spokeswoman from the Federal Aviation Administration said officials are investigating what caused the crash. Officials suspect the plane lost power but they are not sure how. Authorities from the National Transportation and Safety Board were sent to the site.
"We don't know exactly what caused the crash but the NTSB is en route and will investigate," Rose told the AP.