Port Orange plane wreckage taken to Jacksonville, victims ID'd

PORT ORANGE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - One person dead is dead following a small plane crash in Volusia County. 

The deceased has been identified as an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student, 22-year-old Nandish Pate. Patel was a senior majoring in Aeronautical Science, and a member of the ALPA ACE club, Business Aviation Student Association, and Cricket Club, according to the university.

Authorities with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a second person on board that plane was rushed to the hospital and remains in critical condition. Luckily, no residents on the ground near the Spruce Creek Airport in Port Orange were injured. 

"The plane was on takeoff and something went wrong," said Austin Mitchell, who lives nearby.  "I heard an engine stall out and start back up, and then the plane crashed into the empty lot right next to me.  Then, I ran over and saw one body, starting pulling him out."

The wreckage was towed away from the crash site Wednesday afternoon and will be taken to a salvage hanger in Jacksonville to be analyzed, according to the NTSB.