Plane takes off from McKinney, crashes in Gulf
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Updated: 11:10 PM Jul 8, 2009
Plane takes off from McKinney, crashes in Gulf
Gulf Coast, FL -- The search will continue through the night for the five people on board a north texas plane that crashed off of Florida's Gulf Coast Wednesday afternoon. The Coast Guard now says they have discovered a two-mile debris field within the search area. They are not confirming it is part of the plane, but it does fit the description.
Posted: 10:51 PM Jul 8, 2009
Reporter: KXII Staff
Email Address: firstnews@kxii.com
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Gulf Coast, FL -- The search will continue through the night for the five people on board a north texas plane that crashed off of Florida's Gulf Coast Wednesday afternoon. The Coast Guard now says they have discovered a two-mile debris field within the search area. They are not confirming it is part of the plane, but it does fit the description.

A Coast Guard cutter will use infrared goggles to search throughout the night into the morning for survivors.

Authorities say the twin-engine Cessna was flying from McKinney, Texas, when it went down this afternoon about 20 miles west of Port Richey, Florida.

The twin engine Cessna left from Collin County Regional Airport en route to Tampa around10 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration says air traffic controllers in Jacksonville lost radio and radar contact with the plane at 1:52 p.m. after it reported encountering turbulence.

The Coast Guard says it has been searching for the aircraft since about 3 p.m. Records indicate the plane is owned by Q4 Aviation in Carrollton, Texas.

It was being used to transport employees of Quality Powder Coating LP to Tampa for a business trip. Five men were on board--among those a company pilot, the owner and sales executives.

"We don't have a lot of information, we were notified this afternoon that the plane had gone missing, and since that time we've been trying to collect data and get information on any survivors and the details about the crash," said Company Spokesman Andy Brown.

The identities of the passengers have not been released.
The FAA and meteorologists report strong turbulence and some thunderstorms in the area. It's not known if that contributed to the crash.

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