Pilot identified in Captiva plane crash
The pilot who crashed his small plane into the Gulf of Mexico off North Captiva island Wednesday night has been identified as Gregg Howard, 62, of 122 Nina Street N.E., St. Petersburg.
The Medical Examiner made the positive identification and also determined the official cause of death was drowning, according to a release issued by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Saturday.
His body was recovered by the Sheriff’s Office Underwater Operations Unit.
Officials say Howard was alone in the plane.
“The divers located the body of the pilot, and through an extensive search, were able to determine that Howard was alone in the airplane when it went down,” the release states.
Meanwhile, federal accident investigators say it will take days to trace the movements of a small plane that ended up in the bay waters near the Salty Approach Airport on North Captiva island on Wednesday.
It could take up to 18 months to determine the exact cause of the crash that has claimed the life of the pilot, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. The agency investigates civilian accidents.
The single-engine Piper remained in the waters late Thursday.
“We’ll determine a cause once we have access,” said Keith Holloway, an NTSB public affairs officer.
According to investigators, the Piper PA-32 left Page Field in Fort Myers at about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Reports were the pilot was transporting construction material for a home on North Captiva.
Preliminary law enforcement reports said the pilot descending in the Piper came up about a 100 feet short of Salty Approach, crashing the plane in choppy water. Reports indicated weather conditions were cloudy with patches of hard rain and wind.
A witness reportedly tried to dive into the waters around the Piper. The dangers of strong currents stymied those efforts.