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Four people were killed when two small planes collided over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida, on Tuesday (March 7) afternoon. The lake is one of more than a dozen that surround Winter Haven Regional Airport.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said that a Piper J-3 Cub seaplane and a Cherokee Piper 161 fixed-wing plane collided in mid-air and crashed into the water just after 2 p.m.
"All of a sudden, it was a giant boom," Caridad Fernandez, who lives near the lake, told WESH. "It literally sounded like when a rocket takes off and hits the atmosphere."
One of the planes was partially submerged, while the other aircraft sank 21 feet to the bottom of the lake.
Officials identified three of the four victims. Faith Irene Baker, 24, was piloting the Cherokee Piper 161, with 19-year-old Zachary Jean Mace riding as a passenger.
Randall Elbert Crawford, 67, was aboard the Piper J-3 Cub. The other person on that aircraft has not been identified.
The Cherokee Piper 161 was operated by Sunrise Aviation on behalf of Polk State College. It is unclear if Mace, who attended the college, was receiving flying instructions at the time of the accident.
"Our Polk State College family is devastated by this tragedy," Polk State President Angela Garcia Falconetti said in a statement. "We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues."
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash but have not determined what caused the accident or if either pilot was at fault.