The search for a couple whose small plane disappeared near the Florida Keys earlier this week was suspended Friday after wreckage from the aircraft was found on the ocean floor, authorities said.
Alexandra Tufo and Thomas Campana had left Palm Beach County Airport Sunday and were heading to Key West when the Vans RV-12 plane they were in went missing, Federal Aviation Administration officials said.
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The search for the missing plane began Tuesday after it was believed to have crashed about 15 miles north of Big Pine Key.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said Friday that Monroe County Sheriff's office divers recovered two pieces of a plane in the search area Thursday, and identified the tail number of the missing aircraft from the pieces.
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"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Alexandra Tufo and Thomas Campana," said Cmdr. Lindsey Seniuk, search and rescue mission coordinator, Coast Guard District Seven. "This was a challenging case and it made the decision to suspend that much harder after our partners found the debris field. The MCSO divers are the experts in this new phase of the search, and our crews will be ready if our assistance is requested."
Tufo's sister, Lana Tufo, said the plane was owned by Campana, who received his pilot's license about a year ago.
"It's just, the whole thing's kind of surreal to me," Lana Tufo said Thursday. "We're looking for answers and I want to know kind of what went wrong because I feel like this could have been prevented."
