The devastated pilot who crashed-landed on what he thought was a deserted Florida beach, but instead struck and killed a father and his nine-year-old daughter, said he never saw the pair and apologized to their families.
Pilot Karl Kokomoor said in a statement that "I send my heartfelt apologies to the Irizarry family for my role in this tragic accident … The plane hit the water with the nose down to rest at water's edge. It was only after I exited the plane did I realize there were people on the beach. I never saw them,” NBC affiliate WBBH reported.
U.S. Army Sgt. Ommy Irizarry, 36, and his daughter, 9-year-old Oceana Irizzary, were walking along Casperson Beach in Venice, Florida, Sunday when they were struck by the single-engine plane as it crash-landed. WBBH reported the pilot steered his ailing craft to that section of beach because he thought it was empty.
IN-DEPTH
- Pilot Who Killed Two in Beach Crash Releases Statement (WBBH)
- Second Beachgoer, 9, Dies in Florida Airplane Crash
- Frantic Calls Detail Fatal Florida Beach Plane Crash
- Phil Helsel
