A fourth victim has been identified following a deadly mid-air collision involving two small flight school planes over the Florida Everglades.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta told reporters on Wednesday that the body of 22-year-old Carlos Alfredo Zanetti Scarpati had been recovered from the remote, swampy crash site.
Police previously identified three other victims as 22-year-old Jorge Sanchez, 72-year-old Ralph Knight and 19-year-old Nisha Sejwal.
Flight school instructor Ralph Knight, 72 (left) and 19-year-old pilot Nisha Sejwal (right) were among the four people killed in Tuesday’s mid-air plane collision over Florida
The crash also claimed the life of 22-year-old pilot Jorge Sanchez (pictured)
Zabaleta said federal investigators confirmed Sachez, Knight and Sejwal were experienced pilots. Scarpati was a flight student.
The four victims died on Tuesday after their two planes, a Piper PA-34 and a Cessna 172, crashed near the Tamiami Trail that runs through the Everglades, about 9 miles west of Miami Executive Airport.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said both planes belonged to Dean International flight school.
Julio Sanchez said his brother Jorge nearly had the required 1,500 flying hours needed to be a regional airline pilot.
Diedre Knight said her father-in-law Ralph was a private pilot who taught two sons to fly. The 72-year-old was a certified flight instructor who worked as a subcontracted flight inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to her Facebook page, Sejwal entered Dean International flight school in September 2017.
Two planes connected to a training school in Miami crashed above the Florida Everglades on Tuesday
The two planes, Piper PA-34 and Cessna 172, collided midair Tuesday afternoon
Further investigation into the deadly crash has been launched by NTSB
Miami Fire and Rescue crews are pictured working at the site of the crash in the Everglades
Ralph Knight (left) was a private pilot who taught two sons to fly. Jorge Sanchez (right) nearly had the required 1,500 flying hours needed to be a regional airline pilot
Nisha Sejwal entered Dean International flight school in September 2017
Fisherman Daniel Miralles told Miami Herald he was spending the morning on a canal near the airport when he saw the two planes collide.
‘I heard a weird sound. It sounded like a plane, but it it sounded too close. It sounded like an 18-wheeler going 100mph down the street,’ said Miralles.
Officials with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue used an airboat to get into the site of the crash, according to Local 10 News.
The bodies of three of the victims were recovered on Tuesday, not long after the accident. Scarpati’s remains were discovered at 10am on Wednesday.
Local 10 reported there have been 23 incidents at the training school that required investigation within the past 10 years, including a May 3 crash that left two people injured.
A year ago, Dean International student Mark Ukaere, 29, was killed after he took a small plane without permission and crashed while flying over the Everglades at night.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigation Tuesday’s collision.
Past troubles: There have been 23 incidents at the Dean International flight school that required investigation within the past 10 years