FORT PIERCE - A single-engine plane crashed Monday in a citrus grove near St. Lucie International Airport, killing a flight instructor and a student and slightly injuring another student.
Instructor Louis Sorrano, 29, of Fort Pierce, and student Carlos Ramirez, 20, of Guttenberg, N.J., were pronounced dead shortly after the 1 a.m. crash, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said. Student Ann Marie Boshah, 24, of Montreal, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, deputies said.
The 2002 Piper Archer knocked out Florida Power & Light Co. lines, causing electricity outages in the area.
The control tower was closed, so it could not be immediately determined whether the plane was taking off or landing. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
The plane was owned by Pan Am International Flight Academy, which has offices at the airport as well as in Miami, Orlando, Vero Beach, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Minnesota, Arizona and Missouri. Spokeswoman Marilyn Ladner said it was the first fatal crash in the company's four-year history.
