Small plane crashes near Bonita Beach Road, one dead

A small plane crashed Monday afternoon, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

The crash happened early Monday afternoon north of Bonita Beach Road SE in east Lee County.

The plane took off from Page Field and issued a Mayday call only 15 minutes into the flight. One person was found dead, who appears to be the pilot. It is not clear if the plane carried any other passengers.

The call was made over an isolated area in swampy terrain, but led to the debris field that investigators are now clearing through. They say they are looking for one more passenger who could have potentially been ejected, but authorities do not know if the plane was carrying two people or just the one.

The brush in that area was so dense that the Division of Forestry had to clear a path so that the Lee County deputies and the Bonita Springs Fire Department could access the area.

Investigators traveled via swamp buggy and ATVs.

A witness to the crash said she was on the 7th hole at Bonita National Golf Club when she saw the debris scattering just a few hundred feet away from her.

She said she called 911, but initially thought that it was a remote control plane because of how small the debris seemed.

The plane was a single engine model.

Now investigators are focusing on why this plane crashed.

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