Body of pilot found after plane bound for Merritt Island crashes in ocean

Piper PA-28 Cherokee plane went down off South Florida

FILE PHOTO: The crew of a Coast Guard Air Station San Diego-based MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter lowers a trail line while approaching a Coast Guard Station San Diego 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew during training off the coast of San Diego, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. The helicopter crew lowered a rescue basket to the boat crew once they had control of the trail line. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Connie Terrell. ( , )

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Divers recovered the body Monday of a 24-year-old pilot whose plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach County, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office divers found the body inside the Piper PA-28, the Coast Guard said. Abhishek Patter was the lone person on the single-engine plane, which crashed Sunday night near Boynton Beach Inlet, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

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Witnesses said they heard a loud boom and then the plane nosedived into the water.

“The person who called in the report said the plane was sinking,” Petty Officer Jose Hernandez, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast office in Miami told news outlets.

The plane was flying from Palm Beach County Park Airport to Merritt Island Airport, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north, officials said.


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