Florida

Small Plane Disappears After Departing From Fort Lauderdale: FAA

The FAA says the Vans RV-12 went missing shortly after 1 p.m. after departing from Fort Lauderdale, reportedly scheduled to travel to Key West

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Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard are searching for two people who were onboard a single-engine plane that went missing shortly after departing from Fort Lauderdale.

The FAA said the Vans RV-12 plane went missing shortly after departing and was reportedly scheduled to travel to Key West.

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Family members identified the two on the plane as Ali Tufo and Tommy Campana.

Lana Tufo said her sister's boyfriend, Campana, received his pilot's license around a year ago and was the plane's owner.

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She said the two went missing Sunday but said the Coast Guard wasn't alerted until Tuesday.

"It's just, the whole thing's kind of surreal to me," Lana Tufo said. "We're looking for answers and I want to know kind of what went wrong because I feel like this could have been prevented."

Coast Guard officials said the plane could be about 15 miles north of Big Pine Key.

On Thursday, air and surface rescue crews found a sheen, but no sign of distress or debris in the search area, Coast Guard officials said.

No other information was immediately known.

Check back with NBC 6 for updates.

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