Men killed in plane crash off the Dania Beach coast identified
The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday identified the two men who died in a plane crash off the coast of Dania Beach over the weekend.
Frederick Gautzsch, Jr., 73, of Boca Raton and Robert Chartrand, 66, of LaSalle, Quebec, left Pompano Beach Airpark Saturday morning in a rented single-engine Cessna.
The men, who were both pilots, rented the plane from Paul Kramer’s Learn to Fly Center, BSO said. Gautzsch had control of the plane as they headed to Ocean Reef Club’s private airport in Key Largo, according to BSO.
But sometime before 10 a.m., the small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about one mile north of the Dania Beach Pier, and just east of the south runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
BSO crews responded after the air traffic control tower advised them of a downed plane. Rescuers spotted an oil slick and the plane in about 20 feet of water.
Both men, who died on impact, were found floating about 200 yards north of the crash site, according to BSO.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
Carli Teproff: 305-376-3587, @CTeproff
This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Men killed in plane crash off the Dania Beach coast identified."