Fourth Victim In Mid-Air Collision Over Everglades Found

HOMESTEAD, FL — The body of the fourth victim killed after two small flight trainers collided over the Florida Everglades on Tuesday has been found, according to Miami-Dade police. The bodies of three people killed in the crash were recovered Tuesday, according to first responders.

People reported hearing an explosion around 1 p.m. and called 9-1-1. Both airplanes were spotted in a remote area accessible only by airboats and helicopters.

"The preliminary information revealed that both planes were training flight students," explained Detective Alvaro Zabaleta of the Miami-Dade Police Department late Tuesday night. "One of the aircrafts had two people onboard, leading investigators to believe that the second aircraft also had two."

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The victims were identified as 22-year-old Jorge A. Sanchez, 72-year-old Ralph Knight and 19-year-old Nisha Sejwal. The fourth victim was later identified as 22-year-old Carlo Zanetti Scarpati.

News reports said that one of the planes bore markings of Dean International flight school, which experienced back to back crashes in 2017.

At that time, flight school founder Robert Dean told Patch that the school had 50 aircraft and trained more than 350 students per year.

"We are dedicated to keep each and every one of our students and our instructors safe," Dean told Patch in July 2017. The school had graduated some 8,000 pilots from all around the world at the time of the interview.

The closest physical address to the crash site is 22700 SW 8th Street, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, which dispatched helicopter and airboat units to the scene.

Kathleen Bergen with the Federal Aviation Administration described the two planes as a Piper PA-34 and a Cessna 172. She told Patch that the crash occurred about nine miles west of Miami Executive Airport. FAA officials did not immediately release the aircraft registration numbers.

"The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the accident," according to Bergen.

Erika Benitez of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told Patch that the two planes was found close by one another in the Everglades.

"MDFR Marine Operations Airboat deployed their assets and found the wreckage," said Benitez, adding that a team of Miami-Dade first responders happened to be training near the crash site and were able to reach the wreckage within five minutes.

Miami-Dade police said that SW 8th Street was closed from Krome Avenue to Naples in both directions as a result of the crash.

Dean International is located at Miami Executive Airport, 14150 SW 129th St., Miami.

Daniel Miralles, who was fishing on Tuesday, captured the crash on video. Watch below:

First responders from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue search the crash site in the Florida Everglades. Photo courtesy Miami-Dade Fire Rescue