More details on the deadly plane crash in Florida on Sunday morning were released by officials.
The office identified the victims, and they were John Shannon, a 70-year-old lawyer, and his daughter Olivia Shannon, who was a 24-year-old student at Southeastern University.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shannon, Worthington, and Clayton families. This is a tragedy any time, but it is so much worse because it happened on Christmas Eve,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement about the crash. “We are providing all of our resources to assist them with anything they need to help them get through this horrific tragedy.”
Judd said that he personally knew some of the people who died on the plane.
“I have known him for years and years and years,” he said.
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigators will look into the cause of the crash.
“We were assisted by Polk Fire Rescue, which put out the fire. We know upon impact that there was a huge fire,” the sheriff said.
Dispatchers described poor visibility.
“I do see Polk County Fire units, unfortunately on the runway the fog is so low we can’t see anything on the runway and are investigating and we did not see or come across any pilots or planes on the runway at this time,” the transcription of the dispatch said, as ABC reported.
Another noted the following: “Engine 461, Battalion 4, we’re on scene now at the air base… it’s really foggy. We’re unable to see it from our location, I’m going to try to make it out onto the airfield.”
“This is an absolutely horrific tragedy, especially on Christmas Eve. Please keep these victims and their family members in your prayers,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office tweeted about the accident.
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