ORLANDO, Fla. _ Two people died when a plane flown by an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student crash near Daytona Beach early Wednesday, officials confirmed.
The crash was reported by a witness about 10 a.m. The plane came down off Tomoka Farms Road, officials said.
Two occupants of the plane _ a student pilot at Embry-Riddle and a pilot examiner with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, neither of whom have been publicly identified _ were killed.
"Our prayers and deepest sympathies go out to all those affected by this devastating loss," university President P. Barry Butler said in a statement.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said it had notified the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Officials with those agencies were called to the crash scene to investigate its cause, the Sheriff's Office said.
"Embry-Riddle is cooperating fully with all appropriate law enforcement and regulatory authorities," Butler said.
Butler said the university's counseling center and chaplain's office were available "to provide support, as needed, for students, faculty and staff."
