Plane bound for SRQ crashes in Gulf

A twin-engine Cessna plane with an unresponsive pilot at the wheel that was heading from Louisiana to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport crashed in the Gulf of Mexico just after noon today, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lost contact with the Cessna 421 around 9 a.m. today. The plane, which was surrounded by two military jets that were monitoring the plane’s Circle-like movements, crashed into the Gulf 133 miles southwest of St. Petersburg.

The Coast Guard has not released any information on the status of the pilot. The pilots of the military jets, however, reported seeing the windows iced over and observed the plane traveling in a slow spiral.

All transponder communication with the plane was lost at 12:20 p.m., which is the expected time the plane crashed in the Gulf. The twin-engine plane was expected to run out of fuel at 12:30 p.m.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].