The Flagler County Sheriff's Office says a 75-year-old man was the sole occupant of a plane that crashed early Saturday morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into the crash of a small plane in a wooded area of Flagler County on Friday night.

A missing plane crashed overnight in a rural area of Central Florida, officials said. The pilot, the only person aboard the aircraft, is presumed to be dead, said Sheriff Rick Staly. He said it appears the flight hit the ground nearly straight down – and fast.

The Federal Aviation Authority and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, which took place in a wooded area in Bunnell.

Stephen Monroe, 26, was found guilty by a Flagler County jury of first-degree murder in a 2022 drive-by shooting which took the life of a 16-year-old boy.

“A Cessna 208 crashed in a field in southern Flagler County, Florida, around 1:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, February 15. Only the pilot was on board. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.”

"Flying was his life." That's how a friend will remember Thomas Russell Harvey, 75, a pilot who died earlier this week when his plane crashed in a remote part of Flagler County. Harvey was flying from Sebastian to Palatka when his plane dropped off radar and descended rapidly,